06/17/2020 / By Franz Walker
Improvements in automotive safety standards and equipment over the past decade or so have made modern cars much safer than older models. A recent study, however, demonstrates that women are at a higher risk of injury during crashes than men, even when wearing seat belts.
Conducted by researchers at the University of Virginia’s Center for Applied Biomechanics, the study found that female occupants had a 73 percent higher risk of being seriously injured in a frontal-impact collision — one of the most common types of crashes — compared to males.
The study, published in the journal Traffic Injury and Prevention, analyzed data from the Crashworthiness Data System (CDS) of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration‘s National Automotive Sampling System. Specifically, the study looked at crash data reported by police from 1998 to 2015.
Using the CDS data, the researchers focused on injuries to belted occupants, aged 13 and older, during frontal-impact collisions. This involved looking at over 31,000 occupants involved in nearly 23,000 front-end crashes. These occupants were comprised of a nearly equal number of males and females. Not included, however, were pregnant women who were past the first trimester.
According to the study, occupants of newer cars — those manufactured for the model year 2009 and onward — were only half as likely to sustain serious injuries compared to if they were riding an older car. Newer cars demonstrated a lower risk of skull fractures, abdominal injury, cervical spine injury, as well as knee-hip-thigh injuries and ankle injury. The risk of serious rib fractures and sternum fractures was not significantly reduced in newer cars, however.
The study also shows that female occupants continue to be in more vulnerable positions when involved in frontal-impact collisions, even when they were wearing a seat belt. This remained true even when other factors, such as the rider’s age, height, weight, body mass index and seating position were taken into account.
The worse part is that despite there being nearly a decade of research that highlights this disparity, the reason for the higher risk for women has yet to be found.
“Until we understand the fundamental biomechanical factors that contribute to increased risk for females, we’ll be limited in our ability to close the risk gap,” said Jason Forman, a principal scientist with the Center for Applied Biomechanics and one of the author’s of the study.
“This will take substantial effort, and in my view the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does not have the resources needed to address this issue.”
Regardless of the advancements made to car safety, frontal-impact collisions remain the number one injury and fatality-causing crash. It is responsible for 64 percent of all fatalities and 65 percent of injuries for front-seat occupants in America. (Related: The deadly poison lurking in your car’s air bags.)
To minimize your chances of getting into a crash, try the following tips when driving.
Use the above tips to become a better driver and minimize your chances of crashing. This will help keep not just you, but your passengers and other drivers around you safe as well.
Sources include:
NHTSA.gov[PDF]
Tagged Under: accident, automobile, car crash, car safety, cars, collisions, Drunk driving, frontal-collision impact, highway safety, injuries, prevention, road safety, seat belt, survival, vehicle, women's health