Project

Women are at greater risk than men of sustaining injuries in vehicle collisions. A recent study by Bose et at. (2011) once again confirms that this situation remains. Women were found to have a 47% higher injury risk compared to men. This gender difference remains when female and male occupants of similar body size and age are compared. Future downsized vehicles will likely include more advanced adaptive protective systems. In order to make full use of the potential of the adaptive technology it will be necessary to simulate and assess the new safety systems with occupant models that represent a variety of different occupant sizes and gender. It will obviously be necessary to obtain a better understanding of female dynamic response and injury tolerance and how it differs in relation to the better investigated male population. This topic has been identified as high priority  in the SAFER Competence Areas Biomechanics and Protective Systems (2012-02-07).