Accidents Would Kill Fewer Women if Car Makers Adjusted Designs Says Brattleboro Personal Injury Lawyer
Mar 27, 2012
Keene, NH (Law Firm Newswire) March 26, 2012 – Car makers need to get with the program and build cars to save women, not just men.
“There is an interesting study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) that indicates even though more people are buckling up, women are far more likely to become serious casualties in a wreck. Why? Because the car safety features are designed for men’s bodies, not that of a woman,” Charlie Donahue pointed out. Charlie Donahue is a Brattleboro personal injury lawyer and medical malpractice lawyer with offices in Keene, New Hampshire.
This observation was not just made out of the blue by the NTHSA. It was backed up by a University of Virginia study, and published in the American Journal of Health in October 2010 that clearly showed women are far more at risk of injuries in a car accident than men, and the reason for that was the vehicle safety features design. Female drivers in the study were about five and a half inches shorter, weighed about 35 pounds less than a man, were less likely to be obese and were driving newer vehicles when they were involved in an accident.
Those differences were factored into the study, which ultimately showed that women wearing seatbelts were 47 percent more likely to sustain injuries than men who were also belted in. There was a higher incidence of chest, spine and lower extremities injuries. The results of this study pointed in the direction of auto makers not designing with women in mind. “Doesn’t it figure? All that taxpayer money going to Washington to set up an agency and look at what the result is. Well intentioned, but out of touch. No wonder our country is broke,” opined Donahue.
To be more specific, they do not take into account the differences in their anatomy. “The study shows the location of seatbelts does not factor in women’s neck musculature and strength, their height differential and how they sit in a vehicle,” added Donahue. The way engineers plan vehicles is to accommodate a male, and this exclusionary design approach may result in more severe injuries to women.
“This startling information should indicate to federal regulators that they need to focus on narrowing the gender disparity in vehicle safety standards, instead of wasting money, even if they are well intentioned. Talk about wasteful and inefficient spending,” he stated.
Women that have been involved in a car accident might want to start checking into how their vehicle was designed. It may make all the difference in the world when it comes to launching a defective product and/or a wrongful death lawsuit. “It is little known or understood factors like design that can make or break a case,” Donahue remarked. “And this is precisely why someone who has been hurt or killed in an accident needs to speak to an veteran Brattleboro injury lawyer like me, and get the straight scoop, no bull,” he said.
To learn more about New Hampshire personal injury lawyer Charlie Donahue, visit http://www.donahuelawfirm.com.
Donahue Law Firm
143 West St.
Keene, NH 03431
Call: (603) 357-2363
Toll Free: (800) 498-4554
