Women more likely to suffer injury
Research conducted by a Swedish university has revealed that women are 3 times more likely to suffer a debilitating injury in a rear-end car collision.
The study conducted by Bertil Jonsson at Umeå University showed that the cause was partly due to the different sitting postures of each sex.
Neck injuries are extremely common in car accidents and can often cause considerable distress to the victim; they also put a major burden on the insurance industry and society in general.
As well as highlighting the gender disparity in injuries the dissertation by Jonsson also showed that the driver was twice as likely to suffer than a front seat passenger.
Jonsson explained that women drivers adjust their driving position differently to men. Women, his research shows, tend to sit closer to the steering wheel and have the chair back more upright.
As Science Daily reports:
“Men have a greater distance between the back of their head and the neck support (so-called backset) compared with women, both when the car is stationary and when driving. If the driver holds his/her hands on the upper part of the steering wheel, the backset distance also increases to the head support compared with the passenger position. High backset values are a known risk factor for neck injuries in rear-end collisions.”
The report proposes that those with a slouched posture while driving entails a greater distance to the head support and also reduces the scope for free movement backward. When this scope is exceeded, injuries probably occur.
Jonsson also highlights the fact that crash test simulations are currently carried out using dummies, which approximate the average male, not the average female especially regarding height. He argues that this lack of focus on women’s driving postures and the size disparity could be a cause of the higher number of injuries to women.
Jonsson concludes that:
“Further research is needed regarding sitting position and the risk of injury. Test methods need to be developed for rear-end collisions, as well as a female crash dummy. The findings provide a foundation for the development of new test methods and protective systems in future vehicles that could reduce the risk of neck injury in rear-end collisions”
In response Mira, who carry out car safety tests pointed out that there were dummies used to represent the average woman. "There are lots of different dummies out there," a spokesman said. "No-one thinks they have got the definitive dummy. Which one is used depends on what part of the world you want to sell a car in and what specific tests you want to carry out."
A spokesman for the UK's Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents said: "A properly adjusted head restraint will help prevent whiplash by reducing the distance between the back of the head and head restraint, stopping the neck from bending back.
"It will also reduce the amount of time it takes your head to initially contact the head restraint, and increase the amount of time that your head is supported during an accident."
He added: "It's important everyone adjusts the head rest as necessary - every time the car is used if there are different drivers using it."
Updated on 6/26/2008