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NHTSA Study Affirms Need for Female Crash Test Dummy Approved by the Trump Administration

Report reiterates that women are at higher risk of injury during vehicular crashes

Share: January 8, 2026 | Washington, DC The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) today released new research proving that women are at higher risk of injury than men during vehicular crashes. This study underscores the importance of Trump Administration’s progress in launching the first-of-its kind advanced female crash test dummy, as well as the Department’s ongoing efforts to advance safety for American families.

According to the study, women have a statistically significant higher risk of injury than men in 26% of the 150 crash injury models, and women have a higher risk more frequently for moderate injuries.

“Under President Trump and Secretary Duffy’s leadership, USDOT streamlined efforts to approve the first-of-its-kind female crash test dummy. The Administration did this because acknowledging the biological differences between men and women can save lives,” said *NHTSA Administrator Jonathan Morrison*. “This study reaffirms the importance of the THOR and will help the Department further build on the progress its already made in lowering traffic fatalities.”

Additional Information:

NHTSA studied six crash types for this report: frontal, near-side, far-side and rear crashes; one combining all four of those crash types; and one for rollover crashes. Unlike other recent studies, NHTSA’s study covered a broader range of crash types, occupant restraint conditions, and seating positions.

Findings related to moderate and higher injuries include:

• 46% higher injury risk in frontal crashes.
• 55% higher injury risk in rollover crashes.
• 62% higher risk for lower extremity injuries in frontal crashes (including knee, thigh, hip, leg, foot and ankle).

• 128% higher risk of injuries to the foot and ankle in frontal crashes.
  This new injury report’s results suggest the following for both men and women:

• Injury risk increases with a person’s age. When compared to the youngest age group (13 to 24 year olds), each subsequent age group (25-34, 35-44, 45-54, 55-64, and 65 and up) had higher moderate-to-severe and fatal injury risk in all but rollover crashes.

• Having a body mass index of 30 or higher was frequently associated with significantly higher injury risk, especially in frontal crashes.

• Occupant height was not significantly associated with injury risk in 86% of injuries studied.
  A previous NHTSA report assessed the difference in fatality risk between men and women, finding this difference was reduced significantly in newer vehicles. The report found that the newer the vehicle, the smaller the disparity. The overall fatality gap between women and men drops from 18% to 6.3% for 2010-2020 vehicles and to 2.9% for 2015-20 vehicles.

The study used data from NHTSA’s National Automotive Sampling System-Crashworthiness Data System from 2000-2015 and the Crash Investigation Sampling System from 2017-2022. These systems are nationally representative surveys of police-reported passenger vehicle crashes.

NHTSA also published its latest Report to Congress detailing its progress on the THOR-05F and WorldSID-05F 5th percentile female crash test dummies. The report includes discussion of NHTSA’s broader female crash safety research efforts in field data analysis, advanced dummies and experimental biomechanics, human body modeling, and fleet testing and countermeasures.

Contact:

NHTSA

NHTSA Media NHTSAmedia@dot.gov 202-366-9550