Take Action
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Dozens of former members of Congress, gender equity, and transportation leaders sent a letter to Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg asking him to end gender discrimination in a car safety testing program. The letter was sent by VERITY NOW, a coalition advocating for gender equality in car safety.
The letter outlines issues with the widely recognized voluntary 5-star safety ratings (the New Car Assessment Program, known as NCAP). While it is widely understood that women’s bodies are physiologically different than men’s bodies, these government 5-star safety ratings programs have not required that female crash test dummies be tested in the driver’s seat.
In addition, the government has failed to mandate use of the advanced dummies that account for female physiological differences. As a result of these government-supported biases in design, women die and are at far higher risk of serious injury in a crash than men. A woman is 17% more likely to die and 73% more likely to be injured in a vehicle crash than a man in the same position, according to the government’s own research.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — a unit of the Department of Transportation — already has the authority to require auto manufacturers to use the most up-to-date crash test dummies available, including ones that represent different body types, but has not acted on that authority. Instead, NHTSA’s requirements still only require out-of-date dummies and the use of a clearly male dummy in the driver’s seat in NCAP tests. A highly sophisticated female dummy has been available for years. At any time, NHTSA could use its authority and require both male and female dummies to be tested in the driver’s seat.
Have your voice heard: Sign the Change.org petition today!
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Reaching the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation, Pete Buttigieg, is VERITY NOW’s top priority. He has the power to enforce the use of female crash test dummies. Please join us as we call on Secretary Pete Buttigieg to end this gender discrimination!
Tweet @SecretaryPete and ask him to direct NHTSA to require the use of female crash test dummies in the driver seat for all tests in the NCAP Five-Star Safety Rating program.
Example Tweets:
Example 1
#DYK women are 17% more likely to die in a vehicle crash than men? Why? NCAP tests do not require the use of female crash test dummies. @SecretaryPete we need #equality in all vehicle safety tests to protect women's lives. #VERITYNOW
Example 2
Vehicles and vehicle safety tests are designed by men, for men. Female crash test dummies are simply scaled-down versions of male dummies. This bias in design disproportionally affects women's lives. @SecretaryPete, it's time to #BreakTheBias in vehicle safety. #VERITYNOW
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VERITY NOW - Get Involved
Our mission is to educate and advocate for updated crash testing standards and practices that protect every body.
If you would like to join our ongoing efforts to advocate for fair safety standards in vehicle testing, please take a few minutes to fill out the form. We will keep you updated with legislative activity and inform you of ways to have your voice heard.
What People Are Saying
“If it takes legislation to get it done, if it takes an appropriation to get it done, we need to get it done because we’re saving lives.”
— Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R-Florida)
“Women have achieved equality on the road, that is to say in driving, but when it comes to testing so that we are sure they are safe on the road, they are nowhere near achieving equality.”
— Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.)
Learn More
Investigate TV recently aired Collision Division, a news segment focused on how safety federal crash test standards favor men, despite women being at higher risk for injury and death when behind the wheel. Women are 73% more likely to be injured, and death rates range from 9% to 28% higher than men.
Government standards for vehicle crash testing are outdated and unequal, causing thousands of women to be needlessly killed and injured every year. This deadly gender bias in vehicle safety is unacceptable.
It is time to stop studying this issue and fix it – now.
Watch the full Collision Division Investigate TV news segment to learn more about this important topic and then sign our petition below to let Congress it is time to take action.
Watch the Investigate TV segment, Collision Division to learn more about gender equity in crash test safety.