The Biomechanics of Gender Difference and Whiplash Injury: Designing Safer Car Seats for Women

Abstract

Female car users are reported to have a higher incidence of soft tissue neck injuries in low speed rear-end collisions than males, and they apparently take longer to recover. This paper addresses the whiplash problem by developing a biomechanical FEM (Finite Element Method) model of the 50th and the 5th percentile female cervical spines, based on the earlier published male model created at the Nottingham Trent University. This model relies on grafting a detailed biomechanical model of the neck and head onto a standard HYBRID III dummy model. The overall philosophy of the investigation was to see if females responded essentially as scaled down males from the perspective of rear end collisions. It was found that detailed responses varied significantly with gender and it became clear that females cannot be modelled as scaled-down males, thus confirming the need for separate male and female biomechanical models and a revision of car test programmes and regulations which are currently based on the average male. Further investigation is needed to quantify the gender differences and then recommendations can be made for changes to the design of car seats and head restraints in order to reduce the risk of soft tissue injury to women.

Dynamic Responses of Female Volunteers in Rear Impact Sled Tests at Two Head Restraint Distances

“…However, the results from the latter study show that the female volunteers had a somewhat different dynamic response than the male volunteers. Similar findings have been reported in other studies ( Siegmund et al, 1997 ; Mordaka and Gentle, 2003 ; Viano, 2003 ; Ono et al, 2006 ; Linder et al, 2008 ; Schick et al, 2008 ; Carlsson et al, 2012 ). There does not seem to be a simple way to “reinterpret” or “scale” data obtained with the BioRID II to address the female dynamic response ( Carlsson, 2012 ).…”

“…Low-speed rear impact volunteer tests have shown that females have greater horizontal head accelerations, greater (or similar) horizontal T1 accelerations, lesser head and T1 rearward displacements, lesser (or similar) Neck Injury Criterion (NIC) values, and more pronounced rebound motions in comparison to males ( Siegmund et al, 1997 ; Mordaka and Gentle, 2003 ; Viano, 2003 ; Ono et al, 2006 ; Linder et al, 2008 ; Schick et al, 2008 ; Carlsson et al, 2011 , 2012 ). The results show that there are characteristic differences in the dynamic response between males and females in rear impacts.…”

“…Based on mathematical simulations, Mordaka and Gentle (2003) concluded that a “scaled down male model is not adequate to simulate female responses even though the scaling constitutes a good height and mass match” (p. 52). Additionally, Vasavada et al (2008) found that “male and female necks are not geometrically similar and indicate that a female-specific model will be necessary to study gender differences in neck-related disorders” (p. 114).…”

Present in class yet absent in science: The individual and societal impact of inequitable science instruction and challenge to improve science instruction

“…Were the decision‐making tables, labs, and project teams actually demographically diverse, we would be less likely to have: Self‐driving cars hit people of color in darkness (Wilson et al, 2019). A higher injury or fatality rate for women in car accidents because anthropomorphic test device and seatbelts are normed to adult male bodies (Linder et al, 2018; Mordaka & Gentle, 2003). Automatic faucets do not work for people of color (Gronneberg, 2020; Oremus, 2021; Plenke, 2015).…”

“…• A higher injury or fatality rate for women in car accidents because anthropomorphic test device and seatbelts are normed to adult male bodies (Linder et al, 2018;Mordaka & Gentle, 2003).…”