Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy on Nov. 20 unveiled an advanced female crash test dummy that manufacturers can soon start producing for carmakers to test in their vehicles.
The female crash test dummy, dubbed the THOR-05F, is a new model that addresses the "ongoing trend of higher injury rates for women than men in certain car crash scenarios," the U.S. Department of Transportation said in a news release. For years, crash testing relied on the Hybrid III 5th percentile dummy, developed more than three decades ago, which primarily used scaled male data to protect small female occupants.
"After years of delays, our team has worked hard over the last eight months to finalize the details for this new, state-of-the-art female crash test dummy," Duffy said in the news release. "Under the leadership of President Trump, this Department will continue to put the safety of American families — including women — first."
A group of bipartisan lawmakers in the U.S. Senate has pushed for equality in crash test dummies, hoping the change will ensure women's safety when they enter a vehicle. Republican Sen. Deb Fischer and Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth, along with Sens. Marsha Blackburn and Patty Murray, sponsored the "She Drives Act" to "update federal crashworthiness tests by requiring the use of advanced test dummies that better reflect the driving public," CBS News reported in July.
