Women are more likely to be stuck in a car in an accident. Article about it published At BMJ Open.
Tim Nutbeam at Plymouth University Hospital and colleagues decided to conduct this study because of statistics showing that women are more seriously injured in road accidents because test dummies mimic the average male body.
For the new study, they referenced statistics collected by major UK emergency rooms between 2012 and 2019. A total of 70,092 patients were examined. It turns out that men are more likely to have serious accidents and go to the hospital. At the same time, among women, 16 percent were stuck in a car, and among men – only 9 percent. Women also suffered more hip and spinal cord injuries, while men suffered more head, face, chest and limb injuries.
“Understanding gender differences in injury patterns can help doctors predict who is more prone to certain injuries. This can affect how you deal with them and where you deliver them. Also, vehicle manufacturers need to be mindful of the equal protection of men and women,” the authors write.
The differences may be explained by the different driving styles of men and women, as men are more likely to be involved in head-on collisions. In addition, because cars are designed to be crash-tested with a male dummy, the female pelvis is wider than the male pelvis, possibly resulting in more frequent injuries. In contrast, getting out of the car on your own with a broken pelvis is much more difficult.