Researchers used national crash data between 1998 and 2008 to determine the role of driver gender as a predictor of injury outcome when involved in a crash. The sample population in the study was 43 percent female, the overall average age was 36 years and 11 percent were older than 60 years. The crashes considered in this study mostly involved passenger cars (67 percent), followed by SUVs (15 percent), light trucks (11 percent) and vans (6 percent). The results from this study suggest that belted female drivers are more susceptible to injuries compared with belted male drivers when involved in a comparable motor vehicle crash. Researchers also found that belted female drivers exhibited a higher risk of chest and spine injuries compared with their male counterparts in comparable crashes.

Researchers noted “a higher risk of lower extreme injuries reported for female drivers as a result of their relatively short stature, preferred seating posture and a combination of these factors yielding lower safety protection from the standard restraint devices.”