Women drivers more likely to suffer whiplash injury

Swedish researchers have found women drivers are three times more likely than men to suffer whiplash injuries if their car is hit from behind.

After studying data on 400 injuries, the team from Umea University believe women are at an increased risk from Whiplash injuries because they generally sit closer to the steering wheel.

They also said crash-test dummies should better reflect women's figures and help influence seat design.

The researchers looked at insurance company data on more than 400 claims for whiplash injuries during the 1990s.

They also carried out their own studies into how more than 200 men and women adjusted their car seats and then how they sat as they drove and as they were stationary.

They then compared the results from the human test with those from tests of a commonly used crash-test dummy, which is the same size as the average man or a large woman.

They concluded women's increased risk was partially due to them tending to sit higher and closer to the steering wheel and to have the seat back more upright.

For both women and men, sitting in the driver's seat entails twice the risk compared with the front passenger seat.

They also claimed that tradition testing did not take into account the differences in seat positioning and called for a new test dummy to be designed to replicate an average-sized woman.

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