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What happens when women aren’t considered in car safety design? For decades, crash test dummies have been modeled on the average male, but studies now show that women are more likely to be injured or killed in certain types of crashes. As the data mounts, so does the urgency to fix the gender gap in car safety.

This week, we’re joined by Emily Thomas, PhD, Associate Director of Automotive Safety at Consumer Reports, and Astrid Linder, Professor of Traffic Safety at the Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute, who developed the world’s first crash test dummy representing an average woman. Together, we’ll explore what it will take to design truly inclusive and safe cars.

The conversation covers:

• Why women face higher injury risks in car crashes
• What’s involved in designing a female crash test dummy
• How the shift to driverless cars presents a chance to correct past biases

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Resources

Astrid Linder’s research

University of Virginia study

U.S. Government Accountability Office recommendations

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About Professor Astrid Linder

Astrid Linder is Professor of Traffic Safety at Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute, VTI, and an Adjunct Professor of Injury Prevention at Chalmers University. She received her PhD in traffic safety from Chalmers from where she also has a MSc in Engineering Physics. Prof Linder initiated and led the research resulting in the world’s first physical dummy model based on the average female, the Seat Evaluation Tool (SET 50F) and was named one of the BBC's 100 most inspiring and influential women in 2023.

Learn more about Astrid Linder: https://www.vti.se/en/employees/astrid-linder

Follow Astrid Linder on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/astrid-linder-2a0b5a53/

About Emily Thomas, PhD

Emily Thomas leads the occupant protection and vulnerable road user safety programs at Consumer Report’s Auto Test Center. Her expertise extends to crash safety, vehicular heatstroke prevention, and child passenger safety. Emily has 15 years of automotive safety experience and holds a PhD in pediatric injury biomechanics from Drexel University and The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

Learn more about Emily Thomas: https://www.consumerreports.org/about-us/our-people/our-experts/emily-thomas/

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