Biological Reality Wins: Trump Mandates Female Dummies, Drives Car Safety Reform

Paul Riverbank, 11/21/2025Female crash dummies finally reshape auto safety, tackling decades-old gender bias in car crash testing.

For years, auto safety insiders quietly worried about a gap hidden in plain sight. Researchers at the University of Virginia found, back in 2019, that women were far more likely than men to be seriously hurt in a collision: 73 percent more, by their count, in head-on crashes. Yet it was business as usual at federal testing labs, where a “female” dummy was essentially a scaled-down copy of its male counterpart and missed crucial anatomical differences.

That indifference is coming to an end. The U.S. Department of Transportation, after generations of inertia, has finally certified a state-of-the-art female crash dummy known as the THOR-05F. Unlike its predecessor—familiar to some as the Hybrid III—this new model bristles with 150 sensors and a frame tailored not just in size but in posture, flexibility, and even “injury zones.” Its design attempts to match how real women, sitting behind the wheel or riding shotgun, move and absorb energy in a crash. If that seems like an obvious fix, it is—just one that’s been delayed for over forty years.

Chris O’Connor, who heads Humanetics, the Michigan-based firm behind the THOR-05F, has spent much of his career reminding Detroit automakers of stubborn facts: “When you look at lower body injuries, women drivers face an almost 80 percent higher risk for leg damage.” And—until recently—safety scores simply didn’t account for that.

One reason, safety advocates argue, is that the old “female” dummy was a misnomer. At 5 feet, 108 pounds, its measurements missed today’s average and, more importantly, didn’t truly “act” like a woman’s body upon impact. “We’ve been warning about this since the Reagan years,” notes an NHTSA official, “but there’s always been something more urgent, something else in the budget.” Previous administrations floated promises; Pete Buttigieg requested additional funding in Congress; the conversation stalled repeatedly.

This time, the breakthrough comes backed by the White House. President Trump, earlier this year, signed an executive order instructing federal agencies to use “clear and accurate language” recognizing biological sex in policy—touching off new rules at the DOT as well. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy hasn’t minced words about the science, insisting that “biology isn’t politics, and when it comes to safety tests, using men’s bodies as the baseline has kept women at risk for decades.” Whether one agrees with the administration’s broader rhetoric or not, it’s clear the policy will now force car makers to confront female injury data head-on if they want the government’s coveted five-star approval.

The new dummy doesn’t just signal a technical upgrade; it marks a philosophical shift. For once, the “average driver” will look a little more like everyone on the road, not just half of them. The Department of Transportation is preparing a suite of detailed technical reports on early findings, but one outcome is certain: future crash safety ratings, soon to be mandatory for new cars, are destined to get a shake-up.

Officials hope the ripple effects will be swift and significant. Already, safety engineers are rethinking interior designs and restraint systems. Some industry watchers predict this will set off a race to shore up weak spots—pelvis protection, seat belts tailored for smaller bodies, and more realistic headrest heights among them.

All told, there’s an irony at play: the politics of biology, so often contentious in other settings, have delivered an overdue victory for science—in the form of a crash dummy. It took too long, as many critics will rightly say. Still, for a technology so central to daily life, and so often taken for granted, a dose of realism about who rides in the cockpit—and how best to keep them safe—feels not just necessary but urgent.

As automakers brace for a new chapter and the THOR-05F prepares for the spotlight, families across the country may soon find one less thing to worry about on the open road. That’s progress, however slow its arrival.

It’s hard to forget the old footage: crash-test dummies hurled forward in a split-second simulation of disaster, while engineers in white coats scribbled notes. But for decades, those dummies overwhelmingly resembled a single, average man, and that detail—rarely questioned—has turned out to be costly for countless drivers who do not fit that mold.For years, auto safety insiders quietly worried about a gap hidden in plain sight. Researchers at the University of Virginia found, back in 2019, that women were far more likely than men to be seriously hurt in a collision: 73 percent more, by their count, in head-on crashes. Yet it was business as usual at federal testing labs, where a “female” dummy was essentially a scaled-down copy of its male counterpart and missed crucial anatomical differences.That indifference is coming to an end. The U.S. Department of Transportation, after generations of inertia, has finally certified a state-of-the-art female crash dummy known as the THOR-05F. Unlike its predecessor—familiar to some as the Hybrid III—this new model bristles with 150 sensors and a frame tailored not just in size but in posture, flexibility, and even “injury zones.” Its design attempts to match how real women, sitting behind the wheel or riding shotgun, move and absorb energy in a crash. If that seems like an obvious fix, it is—just one that’s been delayed for over forty years.Chris O’Connor, who heads Humanetics, the Michigan-based firm behind the THOR-05F, has spent much of his career reminding Detroit automakers of stubborn facts: “When you look at lower body injuries, women drivers face an almost 80 percent higher risk for leg damage.” And—until recently—safety scores simply didn’t account for that.One reason, safety advocates argue, is that the old “female” dummy was a misnomer. At 5 feet, 108 pounds, its measurements missed today’s average and, more importantly, didn’t truly “act” like a woman’s body upon impact. “We’ve been warning about this since the Reagan years,” notes an NHTSA official, “but there’s always been something more urgent, something else in the budget.” Previous administrations floated promises; Pete Buttigieg requested additional funding in Congress; the conversation stalled repeatedly.This time, the breakthrough comes backed by the White House. President Trump, earlier this year, signed an executive order instructing federal agencies to use “clear and accurate language” recognizing biological sex in policy—touching off new rules at the DOT as well. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy hasn’t minced words about the science, insisting that “biology isn’t politics, and when it comes to safety tests, using men’s bodies as the baseline has kept women at risk for decades.” Whether one agrees with the administration’s broader rhetoric or not, it’s clear the policy will now force car makers to confront female injury data head-on if they want the government’s coveted five-star approval.The new dummy doesn’t just signal a technical upgrade; it marks a philosophical shift. For once, the “average driver” will look a little more like everyone on the road, not just half of them. The Department of Transportation is preparing a suite of detailed technical reports on early findings, but one outcome is certain: future crash safety ratings, soon to be mandatory for new cars, are destined to get a shake-up.Officials hope the ripple effects will be swift and significant. Already, safety engineers are rethinking interior designs and restraint systems. Some industry watchers predict this will set off a race to shore up weak spots—pelvis protection, seat belts tailored for smaller bodies, and more realistic headrest heights among them.All told, there’s an irony at play: the politics of biology, so often contentious in other settings, have delivered an overdue victory for science—in the form of a crash dummy. It took too long, as many critics will rightly say. Still, for a technology so central to daily life, and so often taken for granted, a dose of realism about who rides in the cockpit—and how best to keep them safe—feels not just necessary but urgent.As automakers brace for a new chapter and the THOR-05F prepares for the spotlight, families across the country may soon find one less thing to worry about on the open road. That’s progress, however slow its arrival.