Crash tests for planes and cars are still done to keep men safe, putting women at risk.

The next time you board a commercial airplane and are taught how to sit in a brace position during an emergency landing, consider the following: Did you know that only adult male crash test dummies are required for international aircraft safety testing?

Even in the case of car accidents, male dummies are still used in the majority of crash tests around the world and in Australia. Oddly enough, until just three years ago, the only “female” crash test dummies used in automotive safety tests were scaled-down versions of male dummies.

A former airline pilot, he currently holds a Ph.D. In the field of aviation safety, we study the history of airplane and automobile safety. And I’m shocked that so little real-world testing has yet been done to keep women safe in the skies and on the roads.

Crash test dummy problem

Crash test dummies, known as “anthropomorphic test devices,” were first developed for military use in 1949 and then adopted by the automotive industry in the mid-1960s.

Currently, one of the most widely used test dummies in both airplanes and automobiles is the Hybrid III “average” man. Height 175 cm, weight 78 kg, first created in 1976. It is intended to represent the 50th percentile or average-sized male and is also stated in US regulations for safety certification testing.

Automotive safety tests include “little lady” dummies in about 25% of tests. However, the dummy used is not actually shaped like an average biological woman.

Supposedly “female” dummies have been created and used for many years, such as the hybrid HIII-5F.

However, she is only 149 cm tall and weighs 48 kg, which is close to the size of a 12-year-old girl. And this dummy (widely used in car tests, including in Australia) is actually a scaled-down version of the widely used average male Hybrid III, with plastic breasts attached in place of the chest.

It was just three years ago that a team of Swedish engineers led by pioneering researcher Astrid Linder finally unveiled the first dummy made to imitate the 162cm, 62kg “average woman.”

Creating a new female dummy is a step forward. However, the use of more accurate “average” female dummies is not yet a legal requirement for car or airplane testing.

Women are at higher risk of serious injury in cars

When riding in a car, even at low speeds, women are more likely to be seriously injured in a crash.

Women sit further forward than men when driving, even if they are the same height. We need to do this because we have different proportions of our limbs than men.

Women are often labeled as “dislocated drivers” during crashes simply because their cars are designed based on the average male. Half the world’s population isn’t wrong. That’s a design flaw.

Remarkably, some car protection systems designed and tested using male dummies have been shown to reduce injury severity in men while increasing injury severity in women.

Planes need to be tested only on male dummies

When it comes to airplanes, all research, testing, and aircraft certification, including seat and seatbelt design, and the position of braces employed before impact, use only “average” male dummies, such as the aviation-modified Hybrid III male dummy.

Airplanes are certified for safety in the country where they are manufactured. The two largest manufacturers in the world are Boeing and Airbus. Boeing planes are assembled in the United States and certified by the Federal Aviation Administration, while Airbus plane parts are manufactured in Europe, China and Canada and certified by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency.

Aviation safety agencies in the United States and the European Union have largely unified crash safety and safety testing standards through international agreements. These follow standards and recommended practices set by SAE International, a global engineering association.

Authorities in other countries, such as Australia’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority, rely on these international safety certification standards rather than having individual countries retest their aircraft.

There is a lack of research on flying safety for women.

As just one example, U.S. regulations for emergency landing tests are very specific about what to use for safety testing, which is to use an average male dummy. There is no need to use a female dummy.

I’ve been looking for it, but I haven’t seen any research on the impact this male-centric focus has on the safety of female airline passengers and crew.

Despite clear evidence that women experience different and often more severe injuries in car crashes, there is no publicly accessible research on this in the aviation industry.

Women are not just small men

Body proportions, muscle mass, and limb length vary by gender. A study of car crash injuries in the United Kingdom found that men had 8% more skeletal mass than women, with a different body mass distribution.

Women are generally shorter in height and shoulder width than men, but have larger hip circumference. Female hormones loosen ligaments and affect joint stability.

Physiological differences between women and men influence safety outcomes.

Such differences must be taken into account when improving future airplane and vehicle testing. When it comes to safety, one design doesn’t fit all.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.