in Sweden, engineers are developing a female “crash test” dummy

It’s called 7-50F. Behind this barbaric name hides the first female crash test dummy. She is 15 cm and 15 kilos lighter than a male model with measurements and a center of gravity supposed to correspond to the typical woman. “The neck muscles are more flexible in a woman than in a man”, explains Tommy Pettersson, an engineer. With this unique device, Swedish engineers want to improve the safety of women in cars.

Towards a change in legislation

According to an American study, they are 73% more likely than men to be injured in the event of a frontal collision. Until now, the vast majority of tests are done with mannequins with masculine attributes. “The minimum standard required for a car to be sold says: ‘You must use the average man’s model for all testing'”, regrets Astrid Linder, the creator of the model. The solution: change the legislation and make other copies of 7-50F.