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U.S. experts have called for the creation of "obese" crash test dummies
Last reviewed: 30.06.2025
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American medical experts have called for car crash tests to be conducted on heavier dummies, the Daily Mail reports.
The initiative was prompted by the results of a study conducted by the University of Buffalo and the Erie County Medical Center. Scientists analyzed more than 150,000 accidents that occurred in the United States from 2000 to 2005 and were recorded in the National Accident Recording System database. The accident outcomes were grouped by the body mass index of the drivers.
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It turned out that people with moderate obesity were 21 percent more likely to die in accidents, and people with severe obesity were 56 percent more likely than drivers with normal weight. At the same time, the highest survival rate was observed among people with slightly increased body weight.
With this data, the researchers concluded that it was necessary to modify the vehicle crash tests that are currently conducted on dummies that correspond to a person of normal weight.
According to study leader Dietrich Jehle, "obese" dummies should be produced and included in tests to make vehicles safer for obese drivers.