The deadly truth about a world built for men – from stab vests to car crashes

[Admiral Yi]

It certainly could, but stats on height in auto accidents isn't as available.

The researchers controlled for height, so it was available to them.

[Valmy]

The article also mentions that it's not only about height, but also the fact that test dummies are all "male" so safety measures are designed with men in mind.

I thought the dummies were designed to be genderless

Anyway how much different are men and women's bodies involved in something as big as a car crashes? This seems like remarkably huge incompetence on behalf of car makers to design for only tall male drivers when surely the majority of drivers are either short or not male. Call me skeptical all those engineers were that stupid.

But anyway, again I can hardly do anything about this. So any engineers here who work on car safety take this to heart.

[The Brain]

The article also mentions that it's not only about height, but also the fact that test dummies are all "male" so safety measures are designed with men in mind.

I thought the dummies were designed to be genderless

Anyway how much different are men and women's bodies involved in something as big as a car crashes? This seems like remarkably huge incompetence on behalf of car makers to design for only tall male drivers when surely the majority of drivers are either short or not male. Call me skeptical all those engineers were that stupid.

But anyway, again I can hardly do anything about this. So any engineers here who work on car safety take this to heart.

Going beyond what's required by regulations probably wasn't a priority, and never given as a design requirement to the engineers at the car makers. As for the regulators I don't know exactly why they've taken decades-long dumps on women.

[The Larch]

The article also mentions that it's not only about height, but also the fact that test dummies are all "male" so safety measures are designed with men in mind.

I thought the dummies were designed to be genderless

Anyway how much different are men and women's bodies involved in something as big as a car crashes? This seems like remarkably huge incompetence on behalf of car makers to design for only tall male drivers when surely the majority of drivers are either short or not male. Call me skeptical all those engineers were that stupid.

But anyway, again I can hardly do anything about this. So any engineers here who work on car safety take this to heart.

What the article says is that the dummy required for almost all safety tests represents an average male and has male features in the sense of having male bone density, weight distribution, muscle mass, etc, so I guess that in the same crash a woman is going to have worse injuries than a man.

[Oexmelin]

The article also mentions that it's not only about height, but also the fact that test dummies are all "male" so safety measures are designed with men in mind.

I thought the dummies were designed to be genderless

Anyway how much different are men and women's bodies involved in something as big as a car crashes? This seems like remarkably huge incompetence on behalf of car makers to design for only tall male drivers when surely the majority of drivers are either short or not male. Call me skeptical all those engineers were that stupid.

But anyway, again I can hardly do anything about this. So any engineers here who work on car safety take this to heart.

What the article says is that the dummy required for almost all safety tests represents an average male and has male features in the sense of having male bone density, weight distribution, muscle mass, etc, so I guess that in the same crash a woman is going to have worse injuries than a man.

It's a well-documented historical failure of medical studies as well.

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/apr/30/fda-clinical-trials-gender-gap-epa-nih-institute-of-medicine-cardiovascular-disease

[Iormlund]

...any engineers here who work on car safety...

Brain is right on the money. It costs a lot to comply with safety regulation. We do not go beyond what's necessary, because it would be financially crippling.

All of our efforts are geared to:

• Meet the required criteria.
• Painstakingly document how we have successfully met those.

[crazy canuck]

...any engineers here who work on car safety...

Brain is right on the money. It costs a lot to comply with safety regulation. We do not go beyond what's necessary, because it would be financially crippling.

All of our efforts are geared to:

• Meet the required criteria.
• Painstakingly document how we have successfully met those.

Yep, it is a textbook example of working to what is measured.  And in heavily regulate industry there is a well defined list of measureless.  I think that is necessary though. 

[11B4V]

And let me tell you about a world built for short people

and let me tell you about a world built for tall right handed people.

Yup that gets so tiring. Just plain infuriating.

[Zoupa]

And let me tell you about a world built for short people

and let me tell you about a world built for tall right handed people.

Yup that gets so tiring. Just plain infuriating.

Quit yer cryin

[viper37]

Anyway cars suck ass

such insensitivity from city dwellers!

[Valmy]

Anyway cars suck ass

such insensitivity from city dwellers!

Sitting in traffic two hours a day will do that

But I hate cars because they take up so much money and I am a terrible driver. Those factors strike me as independent of where I live.

[viper37]

Sitting in traffic two hours a day will do that

1hr to enter Quebec city and I nearly go mad... 

But I hate cars because they take up so much money and I am a terrible driver. Those factors strike me as independent of where I live.

I have a mixed feeling about cars.
They are a necessity, they are a tool.  I need them to meet clients, to meet family and friends, to get out of the city, and well, frankly, to go anywhere.

I like nice things.  I don't have an eye for anything artistic, and whatever I buy needs to be functional first, aesthetic second.

With cars, if I can afford it, I like something that looks nice and combine good acceleration.  I keep my car clean and in well order, in summer as well as in winter.

Since I have a nice car that looks well maintained and very clean, a lot of people assume I am a "car" person.  I don't even know what type of engine is in the car I own right now, I have no idea how many speeds there are on this transmission.  What I know is I have different tranmission mode with different fuel economy each and I mostly run on the "old man" setting but sometimes, I use the "sport" or "sport plus" setting to get a little more "whooompf" when I hit the pedal

But really, outside of the brand&model, I don't know much about my car.  And while I know a Ferrari means "overpriced sport luxury car", I don't know what's under the hood.  I don't know how to repair a car, and I couldn't change oil on my car without looking at it on the internet.

But I love my car.

In a ideal world, I'd be the only one of the few driving a car with unlimited speed limit on the highway
But I still don't know how to change a tire on this car

[crazy canuck]

In a ideal world, I'd be the only one of the few driving a car with unlimited speed limit on the highway

The closest you can come to that is in an electric. You get to drive in the bus only lanes past all the traffic sitting at a standstill.  You should act quickly to take advantage because eventually the number of electric cars on the road will hit a critical mass and that benefit will be taken away.

[viper37]

In a ideal world, I'd be the only one of the few driving a car with unlimited speed limit on the highway

The closest you can come to that is in an electric. You get to drive in the bus only lanes past all the traffic sitting at a standstill.  You should act quickly to take advantage because eventually the number of electric cars on the road will hit a critical mass and that benefit will be taken away.

I can't afford a 100 000$ car.  And I'm way too big for the small models.
Besides, traffic is an issue only when I get to Quebec city, and there are no reserved lanes available to electric cars where I need to go.

[crazy canuck]

In a ideal world, I'd be the only one of the few driving a car with unlimited speed limit on the highway

The closest you can come to that is in an electric. You get to drive in the bus only lanes past all the traffic sitting at a standstill.  You should act quickly to take advantage because eventually the number of electric cars on the road will hit a critical mass and that benefit will be taken away.

I can't afford a 100 000$ car.  And I'm way too big for the small models.
Besides, traffic is an issue only when I get to Quebec city, and there are no reserved lanes available to electric cars where I need to go.

I bought one that is not called Tesla and I am pretty sure I am significantly larger than you