The winds of change are blowing in the automotive industry, especially in the world of safety. Her name ? SET 50F. It is about the world’s first female crash test dummy. This small revolution, developed by Swedish engineer Astrid Linder, aims to improve road safety for women.

International automotive law currently requires crash tests using male dummies, a model inherited from the 1970s. statistics show that women are more often injured in road accidents. This is where the SET 50F comes into play.

The model is more representative of female fullness

SET 50F is a “anthropomorphic test device” one-of-a-kind, designed specifically for presentation the body of a typical woman. Strapped to a chair, the mannequin is launched at a speed of 16 km/h along a metal rail in a warehouse in Linköping, south of Stockholm, before stopping suddenly. Images of the shock are then broadcast in slow motion on the screen, highlighting the shape of the body, including the breasts.

The first observations immediately show the usefulness of distinguishing between men and women in these tests. Tommy Petterson, one of Astrid Linder’s colleagues at the Swedish Transport Safety Research Institute, explains: “Women’s neck muscles are usually weaker. If we compare with the male model, then here we see that the neck is more flexible, there are more movements. »

Made of rubber, metal and plastic, the SET 50F is equipped with 24 sensors and measures 1.62 meters and 62 kilograms, which is 15 centimeters shorter and 15 kilograms lighter than the traditional men’s model. Her shoulders are narrower and her hips wider, measurements better suited to assessing the risks women face in road accidents.

A decision supported by instructive figures

This model was not born from a simple idea of ​​justice, because the statistics speak for themselves. According to a 2019 study by the University of Virginia, USA, women are 73% more likely than men to be injured in a head-on collision. In addition, they are twice as likely to sustain a spinal cord injury in a crash, mainly due to the shape of their necks and the lack of fit in car seats.

The SET 50F was developed with grants from the European Commission and is already in use by some manufacturers, including Volvo in Sweden. However, at the moment, no international legislation requires its use.

Euro NCAP, the crash-test organization that will develop its protocol in the coming years, has already announced the acceptance of female dummies for its tests.

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