Legislation only requires carmakers to conduct crash tests with dummies based on male proportions - a model dating back to the 1970s - even though statistics show that women are more at risk of injury in the event of a frontal collision.
In a warehouse in Linkoping, 200 kilometres south of Stockholm, the female dummy is strapped into a car seat projected along a metal rail at 16 kilometres per hour, before being brought to a sudden halt. Tested in Sweden since late 2022, the female prototype made of rubber, metal and plastic is fitted with 24 sensors, measures 162 centimetres and weighs 62 kilogrammes. That is 15cm and 15kg fewer than a male crash test dummy.These differences, as well as a lower centre of gravity, play an important role in evaluating the risks women face in a car accident.
According to a 2019 study from the University of Virginia in the United States, women are 73-percent more likely than men to be injured in the event of a frontal collision.