Are Car Crashes More Dangerous for Women?
Because women have different muscular and skeletal structures, they are more prone to injuries from car accidents than their male counterparts. On average, women are shorter, weigh less, and have less strength in their upper body compared to men. Those differences contribute to making it more likely for women to suffer injuries in car accidents than men.
Seat belts and airbags can also be less effective when the driver is shorter and lighter. There are also other factors that make driving more dangerous for women.
Vehicle Choices
A report from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) shows that men primarily buy pickup trucks and full-size SUVs. Women prefer buying and driving smaller cars and crossover SUVs. Pickups and SUVs generally suit taller males, while most women find it easier and more economical to drive smaller vehicles. Those vehicle choices put women at a significant disadvantage when they are involved in accidents with larger vehicles.
Type of Accidents
The data also shows that women are involved in more rear-end collisions and T-bone accidents than men. Those kinds of accidents can be serious to women who are driving compact cars. Even those who are in larger vehicles are more prone to injuries.
A side-impact collision is harder to see coming, which makes it more difficult for women to avoid or brace themselves for impact. When struck from the side, the seat belts are less effective. The side impact also increases the potential for suffering head injuries and back and neck injuries.
A rear-end collision is harder to predict and often causes neck and back injuries. Whiplash is primarily caused by rear-end and side-impact collisions.
Women Suffer More Severe Injuries
Researchers with Verity Now studied data from more than 70,000 accidents involving women and found that women are more prone to fatal injuries. The study showed women are 17 percent more likely to die in an accident, and 73 percent more likely to suffer an injury.
Verity Now researchers also say women are three times more likely to break a bone and 2.5 times more likely to suffer a leg injury than men. Women are twice as likely to be seriously injured in a car accident.
New Brunswick Car Accident Lawyers at the Law Offices of Harold J. Gerr Can Help You After a Collision
You can retain legal help from our New Brunswick car accident lawyers at the Law Offices of Harold J. Gerr after a collision. Call us at 732-537-8570 or complete our online form to schedule a free consultation today. Located in Highland Park, New Jersey, we represent clients in New Brunswick, Somerset, Piscataway, Edison, South River, Sayreville, Metuchen, East Brunswick, South Plainfield, Fords, Middlesex, Old Bridge, Iselin, Bound Brook, Perth Amboy, Colonia, Elizabeth, and Newark.
