End Fatal Gender Discrimination in Car Crash Testing
End Fatal Gender Discrimination in Car Crash Testing
The Issue
My name is Maria Weston Kuhn, and I am a car crash survivor. In December 2019, my family and I survived a head-on car crash. My mom and I suffered severe injuries -- mine required emergency surgery and a semester off from college to heal. What I learned after was shocking, not only as a young woman and crash survivor, but as an American. It might surprise you too.
Did you know that American women are 17% more likely to be killed and 73% more likely to be severely injured in frontal car crashes than men?
Because the U.S. government doesn't crash test cars with accurate female dummies, cars are not designed to protect women. In fact, no female dummy is required to be tested in the driver's seat of the New Car Assessment program at all.
This discrimination has fatal consequences. In 2021, 12,039 women were killed in crashes. That's a 12% increase over 2020, and means that, on average, over 32 women were killed every day.
There are simple solutions. The Department of Transportation (DOT) must implement the accurate THOR 5F female crash test dummy in the New Car Assessment program, and test it equally as it does the male. While the DOT has indicated they will likely incorporate the THOR 5F female dummy soon, they do not plan on testing it in the driver's seat as they do the male dummy. The government won't protect all bodies equally unless we make them. So we will -- together.
First, sign our petition to demand equal protection under the law. If you or a loved one has experienced a crash, please tell your story in the comment section below or on our website. Once you've signed, share this petition with your network using #WomenDrive and #DriveUSForward.
Next, sign up for updates on our website. There, you can find more resources, donate, apply to volunteer, and explore other ways to get involved. We need everyone's voice in this fight, no matter your gender, your age, your politics, or anything else. We would love to have you.
Drive US Forward is a Gen Z non-profit working together to end gender discrimination in transportation.
35,407
The Issue
My name is Maria Weston Kuhn, and I am a car crash survivor. In December 2019, my family and I survived a head-on car crash. My mom and I suffered severe injuries -- mine required emergency surgery and a semester off from college to heal. What I learned after was shocking, not only as a young woman and crash survivor, but as an American. It might surprise you too.
Did you know that American women are 17% more likely to be killed and 73% more likely to be severely injured in frontal car crashes than men?
Because the U.S. government doesn't crash test cars with accurate female dummies, cars are not designed to protect women. In fact, no female dummy is required to be tested in the driver's seat of the New Car Assessment program at all.
This discrimination has fatal consequences. In 2021, 12,039 women were killed in crashes. That's a 12% increase over 2020, and means that, on average, over 32 women were killed every day.
There are simple solutions. The Department of Transportation (DOT) must implement the accurate THOR 5F female crash test dummy in the New Car Assessment program, and test it equally as it does the male. While the DOT has indicated they will likely incorporate the THOR 5F female dummy soon, they do not plan on testing it in the driver's seat as they do the male dummy. The government won't protect all bodies equally unless we make them. So we will -- together.
First, sign our petition to demand equal protection under the law. If you or a loved one has experienced a crash, please tell your story in the comment section below or on our website. Once you've signed, share this petition with your network using #WomenDrive and #DriveUSForward.
Next, sign up for updates on our website. There, you can find more resources, donate, apply to volunteer, and explore other ways to get involved. We need everyone's voice in this fight, no matter your gender, your age, your politics, or anything else. We would love to have you.
Drive US Forward is a Gen Z non-profit working together to end gender discrimination in transportation.
35,407
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Petition created on March 6, 2023