At last, a more realistic female crash test dummy to make cars safer

The federal government will soon require carmakers to test vehicle safety systems using advanced crash test dummies that more accurately represent female bodies. Why it matters: Women face a much higher risk than men of being seriously injured or killed in a crash — but most vehicle safety systems are tested using male crash test dummies.Designing safety technologies to protect "the average male" leaves everyone else more vulnerable, safety advocates say.Driving the news: Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy on Thursday unveiled an advanced female dummy — the THOR-05F — that could help close that gender gap in vehicle crashes.With the technical specifications in place, manufacturers can start building female dummies for carmakers to test in their vehicles within the next few years.It's a big step toward safer vehicle designs and updated regulations.What they're saying: "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 a statement.Context: The standard crash test dummy is a 50th-percentile male that represents the average U.S. soldier in the 1960s.A female dummy, added in the early 2000s, represents a 5th-percentile woman — under 5 feet tall and 108 pounds — and thus doesn't consider the other 95% of women.It's essentially just a smaller version of a male dummy and doesn't account for what makes women unique: their different muscle strength, fat distribution, bone density — even their menstrual cycles.Zoom in: The new dummy design is meant to better account for these biological differences between male and female anatomy.Outfitted with more than 150 cutting-edge sensors, the THOR-05F is more durable, accurate and lifelike, enabling it to collect three times more injury measurements than current dummies, according to a DOT release.Unlike the current female dummy, the THOR-05F can assess the risk of injury to the brain and internal organs, as well as injuries to the abdomen, chest, pelvis, arms and legs.Its sensors show how seatbelts, air bags and vehicle structures perform with female bodies, ultimately leading to safer vehicle designs and regulations.What they're saying: "I've been pushing for years to update crash testing standards, which do not account for all of America's drivers – particularly women," said Sen. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), a member of the Senate Commerce Committee. Fischer is sponsor of the "She DRIVES Act," which would modernize vehicle safety testing, including the use of female crash test dummies.