A study published in Traffic Injury Prevention found that women are more likely to get hurt in a car crash. This is true even when they are wearing seat belts. Ultimately, the data indicates that women are 73% more likely than men to be hurt in a front-end collision. Researchers analyzed data from 22,854 front-end collisions that were reported to police in California and throughout the country. These accidents occurred between 1998 and 2015 involving roughly an equal number of males and females.
Researchers divided the reports into those that occurred before 2009 and those that occurred in 2009 or later. It was determined that there were fewer injuries in cars that were built in 2009 or after. However, there was a higher rate of concussions among those who were in newer cars when their accidents took place. Researchers say that this could be a result of increased awareness of concussions and other head injuries.
The reason why women could be more vulnerable to accident injuries may have to do with how safety data is collected. Crash test dummies are built to resemble men, and this is partially because of the cost to produce each dummy. However, Volvo has been collecting safety data focused on female drivers and passengers. It plans to make that information available to others.
Injured victims of either gender may want to reach out to auto accident injury lawyers after being involved in a car crash. With help from legal counsel, a victim could learn more about how to collect compensation and how much money they may be entitled to. An attorney might be able to negotiate a favorable settlement or take a case to court. It is not uncommon for attorneys to file lawsuits to provide leverage during car accident settlement negotiations.
