For the first time in automotive history, U.S. vehicle safety standards are poised for a major overhaul that could dramatically improve the odds for women in car crashes. On November 20, 2025, the Department of Transportation (DOT) unveiled the THOR-05F, an advanced female crash test dummy designed to close a decades-old gap in how car safety is measured and regulated. The announcement, made by Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy in Washington, D.C., marks a long-awaited shift toward recognizing the biological differences between men and women—and making vehicles safer for everyone on the road.
For years, the statistics have painted a grim picture: women are 73% more likely to suffer serious injuries in head-on collisions and 17% more likely to die in car crashes compared to men, according to federal data cited by NBC News and Newsmax. These numbers aren’t just abstract figures—they have real-world consequences for millions of drivers and passengers. Maria Weston Kuhn, founder of the nonprofit Drive Action Fund, knows this all too well. After sustaining life-altering injuries in a car crash, she became a vocal advocate for better safety testing for women. “This is an encouraging sign,” she said of the new dummy’s release, but quickly added, “the dummies won’t do any good sitting in the storage closet, and the car companies won’t implement these changes unless mandated.”
The problem, as safety experts and advocates have long argued, is that the crash test dummies used in federal testing protocols have not adequately represented female physiology. The standard dummy model, the Hybrid III, dates back to the 1970s and was modeled on a 5-foot-9, 171-pound male. Even the so-called “female” version—introduced decades ago—was based on the smallest 5% of American women, standing just 4 feet 11 inches and weighing 108 pounds, as reported by Humanetics CEO Chris O’Connor in interviews with NBC News. “If you look back in history, the crash test dummy was designed around a male, and that male became the baseline,” O’Connor explained. The result? Vehicles have been designed “around a male,” leaving women at a higher risk.
The newly introduced THOR-05F dummy is a leap forward. Outfitted with more than 150 sensors, including in the legs (where female drivers face nearly an 80% higher injury risk than males), the THOR-05F is tailored to better simulate how women’s bodies respond to crash impacts. It features new arm, abdominal, and pelvis sensors, and can provide more accurate data on injuries to the face, neck, and spine. As the DOT’s release put it, the THOR-05F’s “shape and response in a crash are based on female bodies, which will ultimately enable better assessment of brain, thorax, abdominal, pelvic and lower leg injury risk for small female occupants.”
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy made it clear that this move is about restoring what he called “the biological truth about the differences between the sexes.” In a statement, he said, “That biological fact isn’t just a talking point – it’s an important safety consideration when designing cars. Under the leadership of President Trump, this Department will continue to put the safety of American families – including women – first.” This emphasis on sex-based differences in safety design was further reinforced by a January 20 executive order from President Trump, which directed federal agencies to account for biological realities in policymaking.
National Highway Traffic Safety Administrator Jonathan Morrison echoed the sentiment, describing the THOR-05F’s rollout as “a long-overdue step toward the full adoption of this new dummy for use in our safety ratings and Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards.” Morrison also acknowledged the lengthy timeline, stating, “While I’m the first to acknowledge that this took far longer than anyone would like, it was very important to make sure that we got this right.”
The technical details released by NHTSA now allow automakers to purchase the THOR-05F and begin using it in their own tests. Formal adoption into federal safety ratings and rulemaking is expected in 2027 or 2028, but manufacturers can start designing vehicles to these new specifications immediately—a significant update, given that the last major revision to these standards was in the 1980s.
While the move has been widely praised by safety advocates and lawmakers, not everyone is convinced. Some automakers have expressed skepticism, warning that the new model may overstate injury risks and could undermine the recognition of existing safety features like seat belts and airbags. Still, the push for change has garnered rare bipartisan support. U.S. Senators Deb Fischer, a Republican from Nebraska, and Tammy Duckworth, a Democrat from Illinois, have both hailed the THOR-05F’s introduction. Fischer, who introduced the She Drives Act to mandate the use of advanced testing devices, stated, “It’s far past time to make these testing standards permanent, which will help save thousands of lives and make America’s roads safer for all drivers.” Duckworth added, “Any progress here is good, because there’s simply no good reason why women are more likely to be injured or die in car crashes.”
The DOT’s announcement also included pointed criticism of previous administrations for what Duffy called “years of delays.” Duffy’s predecessor, Pete Buttigieg, had requested $20 million from Congress to develop female crash dummies, while the first Trump administration also explored the concept. It took nearly 45 years for NHTSA to approve a dummy built around the anatomy of an average adult woman, despite advanced models being available for years. Now, with the release of the THOR-05F and new technical standards, manufacturers can finally begin to address these longstanding disparities.
The stakes are high. According to Humanetics, the company behind the THOR-05F, its female dummy is already being used in crash testing in Europe and elsewhere. O’Connor stressed the need for urgency, noting, “What is needed in the U.S.A. is a clear timeline and some urgency so that the industry has a fixed date to prepare for its introduction and avoid further delay to saving lives.” Advocates like Maria Weston Kuhn agree, emphasizing that clear deadlines and mandatory implementation are essential if the new standards are to make a real difference on America’s roads.
As the regulatory process to integrate the THOR-05F into Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards begins, one thing is clear: the era of one-size-fits-all vehicle safety testing is coming to an end. The hope, shared by experts, lawmakers, and survivors alike, is that this overdue change will save lives—and finally give women the protection they deserve behind the wheel.
