A new study led by scholars at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, has found that women are more likely than men to experience severe or fatal injuries from car accidents.
Using data from 2018 to 2021 from the National Trauma Data Bank, the research team examined characteristics such as types of injuries, vital signs, age, and injury severity differences between men and women car crash victims. Although men represent the largest portion of annual car crash victims, women are more likely to die than men who experience a crash of a similar severity. Additionally, women were found to be 73 percent more likely than men to be seriously injured during a car crash. When examining the specific types of injuries men and women car crash victims endured, women were found to experience more pelvis and liver injuries than men.
The researchers theorize the discrepancy between men and women’s car crash experiences may be attributed to current safety equipment and crash testing procedures which have historically been designed using a standard male figure. The authors write, “The absence of female bodies as their own standard clearly has consequences, which in the case of vehicle crashes, can be serious and life-altering.”