Trump Administration Finds Women With High Body Mass Most Likely To Be Injured In Crashes
New federal research released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reveals that women face a significantly higher risk of injury than men in vehicle crashes, with the risk rising even further for women with higher body mass. The findings reinforce why the Trump Administration moved aggressively to modernize crash safety standards and approve the nation’s first advanced female crash test dummy, a long-overdue step aimed at protecting American families on the road.
The study analyzed more than two decades of real-world crash investigations and found that women are statistically more likely to be injured than men in a substantial share of crash scenarios. Across 150 separate crash injury models, women showed a statistically significant higher injury risk in 26 percent of them. Even when results were not statistically significant, women more frequently showed higher injury risk for moderate and serious injuries compared to men.
NHTSA Administrator Jonathan Morrison emphasized that these findings validate the Administration’s focus on sex-based safety differences. He noted that under President Trump and Secretary Duffy’s leadership, the Department of Transportation streamlined efforts to approve the first-of-its-kind advanced female crash test dummy because acknowledging biological differences between men and women can save lives. According to Morrison, the study reaffirms the importance of the THOR female dummy and will help the Department build on progress already made in lowering traffic fatalities nationwide.
The research examined six distinct crash types, including frontal, near-side, far-side, and rear crashes, as well as a combined planar crash category and rollover crashes. Unlike many earlier studies that limited analysis to belted drivers or specific seating positions, this study evaluated a broad range of crash types, restraint conditions, and seating positions to better reflect how crashes actually occur in the real world.
The injury disparities were especially pronounced for moderate and serious injuries. Women faced a 46 percent higher risk of injury in frontal crashes and a 55 percent higher risk in rollover crashes. Lower extremity injuries emerged as one of the largest problem areas. Women had a 62 percent higher risk of injuries to the knee, thigh, hip, leg, foot, and ankle in frontal crashes, and an alarming 128 percent higher risk of foot and ankle injuries in those same crashes. These injuries are often life-altering, leading to long-term mobility issues, chronic pain, and disability.
Body mass index played a critical role in injury risk for both sexes, but particularly for women. The study found that having a BMI of 30 or higher was frequently associated with significantly higher injury risk, especially in frontal crashes. This finding highlights how vehicle restraint systems and crash protection features may not perform equally across different body types, raising important questions about how safety systems are designed and tested.
Age also proved to be a major factor in injury outcomes. Compared to the youngest age group studied, drivers and passengers aged 13 to 24, every older age group experienced higher risks of moderate-to-severe and fatal injuries in nearly all crash types. Injury risk increased steadily for people aged 25 to 34, 35 to 44, 45 to 54, 55 to 64, and those 65 and older. One notable exception was rollover crashes, where age-related differences were less consistent.
Interestingly, occupant height was not a major driver of injury risk. In 86 percent of the injury outcomes studied, height was not significantly associated with injury risk, suggesting that weight, age, crash dynamics, and vehicle design play a much larger role than stature alone.
The report also places these findings in context with previous NHTSA research on fatalities. Earlier studies showed that while women historically faced higher fatality risk than men, that gap has narrowed substantially in newer vehicles. For model years 2010 to 2020, the fatality gap dropped from 18 percent to 6.3 percent, and for vehicles built between 2015 and 2020, the difference fell to just 2.9 percent. These improvements underscore how modern safety technologies can reduce disparities when they are properly designed and implemented.
The study drew from NHTSA’s National Automotive Sampling System–Crashworthiness Data System covering crashes from 2000 to 2015 and the Crash Investigation Sampling System covering 2017 to 2022. Together, these nationally representative datasets provided a detailed look at real-world crashes involving passenger cars, SUVs, vans, and light trucks across the United States.
Alongside the injury findings, NHTSA also released its latest Report to Congress detailing progress on the THOR-05F and WorldSID-05F female crash test dummies. The report outlines the agency’s broader efforts to improve female crash safety through field data analysis, advanced crash test dummies, experimental biomechanics, human body modeling, and full-vehicle testing and countermeasures.
Taken together, the findings send a clear message. Women, particularly those with higher body mass and older age, face elevated risks of serious injury in common crash scenarios. The Trump Administration’s push to modernize safety testing and account for biological differences is not just symbolic, but grounded in data showing where lives can be saved.
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