Gender Safety Gap

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Baltimore car accident lawyers discuss gender safety gap.According to a Traffic Injury Prevention report, women get the short end of the stick when it comes to automobile safety and protection from known collision injuries. People are starting to wonder why this gender gap exists, as well as how to eliminate it as soon as possible.

Driving is safer than it ever due to improved regulations and better use of scientific know-how. Over the years, car manufacturers placed a premium on making their motor vehicles more secure. Not only do they constantly tweak and add safety elements, such as more predictable crumple zones, but they relentlessly study the way crash victims move.

Carefully constructed dummies help show how humans are likely to respond during low-impact and high-impact accidents. However, the majority of dummies currently being used are based on male military models from more than 50 years ago. Female crash test dummies only represent five percent of the female population in height and weight. In other words, women drivers and passengers are highly underrepresented during collision tests. This leaves a huge gender gap in understanding how women’s bodies are impacted by sudden forces consistent with a variety of wrecks, including head-on collisions, T-bone accidents, and rear-end crashes.

Advocates Call for More Crash Testing on Women Dummies

After data and statistics from the Traffic Injury Prevention report became available in 2019, numerous consumer protection and safety advocates began asking car manufacturers to evolve their test dummies. As proponents of more representative dummies point out, women’s physiological make-up tends to differ greatly from that of men. Crash test dummies that have female proportionality could help car makers improve safety measures and cut down on injury rates among women drivers and passengers in accident situations.

Currently, women are about 73 percent more apt to be injured than their male counterparts after any type of collision. By creating new crash test dummies and using them regularly, safety advocates conclude that the gender gap would be significantly reduced. In turn, fewer women would leave crash scenes with significant or life-threatening problems.

The biggest obstacle for implementing new crash dummies is their price tag. Each dummy is expensive, making price a notable barrier. However, with 3D printer capabilities being used innovatively across the nation, advocacy groups hope that new technologies can lower the cost of crash test dummies.

Baltimore Car Accident Lawyers at LeViness, Tolzman & Hamilton Represent Victims Seriously Injured in Car Crashes

If you were significantly injured after a car accident, contact a Baltimore car accident lawyer at LeViness, Tolzman & Hamilton today. We will review your case and obtain the compensation you rightfully deserve. For a free consultation, call us at 800-547-4LAW (4529) or fill out an online form.

Located in Baltimore, Columbia, Glen Burnie, and Prince George’s County, we represent clients throughout Maryland, including those in Anne Arundel County, Baltimore County, Carroll County, Harford County, Howard County, Montgomery County, Maryland’s Western Counties, Prince George’s County, Queen Anne’s County, Southern Maryland, and the Eastern Shore, as well as the communities of Catonsville, Essex, Halethorpe, Middle River, Rosedale, Gwynn Oak, Brooklandville, Dundalk, Pikesville, Nottingham, Windsor Mill, Lutherville, Timonium, Sparrows Point, Ridgewood, and Elkridge.