How has the injury severity by gender changed after using female dummy in vehicle testing? Evidence from Florida's crash data

Abstract

Previous studies have commonly identified a significant difference in injury severity in traffic crashes by gender. In the United States, using a female dummy had not been mandatory in vehicle testing until 2003 for frontal crashes and 2006 for side impact crashes. The main objective of this study is to identify the gender difference in injury severity by considering the use of female dummy in vehicle safety testing.Two random parameter logistic models are developed using crash data of Florida. The results demonstrate that female drivers in the vehicle made after 2003 are less likely to be seriously injured, whereas male drivers in the vehicle made after 2006 have a lower propensity to be seriously injured. More importantly, gender disparities in injury severity still exist and are even larger when considering a female dummy in testing. Other variables to control the effects are found significant including age, alcohol/drugs use, seat-belt use, vehicle type, crash type, road features and other environments. In conclusion, this study supports that newer vehicle models in this study are safer for males and females but still there is a room for reducing gender disparities in traffic safety.