Trump Unveils First-of-its-Kind Female Crash Test Dummy, with Breasts and widened hips

Trump’s Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy this week unveiled the finalized design for the nation’s first advanced female crash test dummy, marking a major shift in how vehicle safety is tested and regulated in the United States. Known as the THOR-05F, the new dummy represents a long-delayed but significant step toward addressing persistent safety gaps that have left women at higher risk of injury in certain types of car crashes.

The THOR-05F was originally initiated during the first Trump Administration and is specifically designed to reflect female anatomy and biomechanics, something federal crash testing has historically failed to do. For decades, the automotive safety system relied almost exclusively on the Hybrid III crash test dummy, a model based largely on the average male body. While that approach helped improve overall vehicle safety, it left critical blind spots when it came to understanding how women’s bodies respond differently in crashes.

Advances in engineering and biomechanics have now made it possible to account for those biological differences in far greater detail. The THOR-05F incorporates realistic female body proportions, structure, and mass distribution, allowing researchers to better measure how crash forces affect women in real-world scenarios. This development comes amid growing evidence from federal studies showing that women suffer higher injury rates than men in many common crash types, even when controlling for speed, vehicle type, seatbelt use, and crash severity.

Secretary Duffy framed the announcement as both a safety and scientific issue, emphasizing that biological differences between men and women are not political abstractions but physical realities that matter when designing life-saving systems. He noted that after years of delays, the Department of Transportation moved quickly over the past eight months to finalize the dummy’s design and move it toward adoption. Under President Trump’s leadership, he said, the Department is prioritizing the safety of American families by ensuring that women are no longer an afterthought in vehicle safety testing.

NHTSA Administrator Jonathan Morrison echoed that message, calling the THOR-05F a long-overdue advancement. He emphasized that understanding how women experience crashes differently than men is essential to reducing injuries and fatalities across the population. Morrison noted that the new dummy will play a key role in improving safety ratings and federal motor vehicle safety standards once it is fully adopted.

Technically, the THOR-05F represents a major leap forward. It is equipped with more than 150 advanced sensors and is capable of collecting roughly three times more injury data than existing dummies. These sensors allow engineers to measure injury risks to the brain, chest, abdomen, pelvis, and lower extremities with far greater precision. The dummy’s durability and lifelike response also allow for more consistent and repeatable testing across different crash scenarios.

With the design specifications now finalized, dummy manufacturers can begin producing THOR-05F models that meet federal requirements, and automakers can start testing how their vehicles perform when protecting female occupants. This information will directly influence future vehicle designs, airbag systems, seatbelt configurations, and structural safety improvements.

The announcement aligns with the Trump Administration’s broader policy emphasis on recognizing biological sex differences across federal programs. In the context of transportation safety, that approach translates into more accurate data, better engineering decisions, and ultimately safer vehicles for everyone on the road.

NHTSA is preparing to publish a series of technical documents outlining the THOR-05F’s specifications and performance criteria. Once the rulemaking process is complete, the dummy will be considered for use in the New Car Assessment Program and in compliance testing for federal safety standards. Its adoption is expected to close long-standing data gaps and help ensure that vehicle safety systems are designed to protect women as effectively as they protect men.

After decades of relying on male-based crash models, the introduction of the THOR-05F signals a turning point in federal vehicle safety policy. By capturing how female bodies actually respond in crashes, the new dummy has the potential to reshape automotive safety design and reduce injury disparities that have persisted for years.

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