WASHINGTON — Women are finally getting a dummy of their own.
The Transportation Department rolled out the design for a “first-of-its-kind” advanced female crash test dummy, aimed at improving safety standards to curb the higher injury rate women endure from certain car accidents.
The THOR-05F is intended to more accurately reflect the biological differences between men and women with new arm, abdominal and pelvis sensors, as well as a more accurate capacity to simulate crash impacts on the face, neck and spine.
“The Left doesn’t want to hear it, but the science is clear: there are only two sexes – male and female,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a statement.
DOT stressed that its new female crash dummy design has been developed in keeping with President Trump’s Jan. 20 executive order to restore the biological truth about the differences between the sexes.
“That biological fact isn’t just a talking point – it’s an important safety consideration when designing cars,” Duffy added. “Under the leadership of President Trump, this Department will continue to put the safety of American families – including women – first.”
Safety experts have been pushing for the use of female crash dummies for years.
Regulators have talked about developing a female THOR model since at least the 1980s. Duffy’s predecessor, Pete Buttigieg, had asked Congress for $20 million to develop female crash dummies. The first Trump administration also explored the concept.
Women make up close to half of drivers in the US, but due to biological differences, they are also 73% more likely to suffer injuries in a car accident, and are 17% more likely to get killed in one than men, according to one study.
There are still more male than female fatalities in car accidents every year, but that’s because men have a tendency to get into car crashes more than women, likely due to more risky driving habits.
In 2023, for example, 29,584 men died in car crashes, compared to 11,229 women, per the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
On average, women are 5.4 inches shorter and 27 pounds lighter than their male counterparts, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
For decades, frontal car crash tests had been done with male dummies, namely the Hybrid III, which was rolled out in the mid-1970s.
Soon, car companies will be required to use female dummies in crash tests.
“Better understanding the unique ways in which women are impacted differently in crashes than men is essential to reducing traffic fatalities,” National Highway Traffic Safety Administrator Jonathan Morrison explained.
“This is a long-overdue step toward the full adoption of this new dummy for use in our safety ratings and Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards.”
