Rep. DeLauro praises Buttigieg’s plan to solve ‘gender inequity’ by promoting female crash test dummies

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Rep. DeLauro praises Buttigieg’s plan to solve ‘gender inequity’ by promoting female crash test dummies

Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., turned heads Thursday by stressing the need for "female dummies" in car crash testing during a congressional hearing.

Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., turned heads Thursday by stressing the need for "female dummies" in car crash testing during a congressional hearing.

During the House Appropriations Committee hearing on the Department of Transportation budget, DeLauro used her time to praise Transportation Secretary Pete Butigieg’s initiatives to rectify the "gender inequity" among crash victims.

DeLauro singled out the "use of female dummies" for roadway crash testing as one of these Buttigieg initiatives she supports. 

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Rep. Rosa DeLauro speaks at a congressional hearing on April 20, 2023. (Screenshot/Twitter)

"You also plan to make important investments to address the roadway safety crisis, including the critical funding that would accelerate the development – and this is an area that I’ve written to you about – of the use of female dummies in crash testing," she said. "This will start to fight the gender inequity among vehicle safety and crash victims."

More than a year ago, DeLauro, along with other Democrat Party lawmakers, wrote a letter to Secretary Buttigieg requesting that his department take "takes additional measures to protect women drivers by requiring the use of accurate, up-to-date female crash test dummies in NHTSA’s [National Highway Traffic Safety Administration] New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) and Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS)."

According to the lawmakers’ letter, the current female dummies "most commonly used by NHTSA in tests are simply scaled-down versions of the male dummies, which are based on the measurements of an average-sized male from the 1970s."

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It noted that these female dummies have failed to accurately simulate the reality that "female drivers are significantly more vulnerable to certain injuries in crashes, such as those to the neck and abdomen," thus rendering current safety testing obsolete.

The document made two requests of the Buttigieg team, asking it to ensure that there is a "Transition to the latest generation of crash test dummy technology for both male and female occupants," and that it requires "such as those in the NCAP and FMVSSS, use the most up-to-date male and female crash test dummy technology in driver and passenger seat tests."

It concluded, "These policies would advance gender equity in auto safety regulations and save lives."

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The NHTSA responded to the concerns in the letter in October 2022, assuring DeLauro and her fellow lawmakers that they are developing "new, more advanced, female dummies that are currently under development and that hold great promise for improving safety."

Fox News Digital reached out to DeLauro’s office, asking what distinguishes a female crash test dummy from a male dummy. They've yet to respond.

A crash test dummy is displayed during the Geneva Motor Show 2016 on March 2, 2016 in Geneva, Switzerland.   (Photo by Harold Cunningham/Getty Images)