National Consumers League calls for equity in crash testing at DOT
April 25, 2022
Media contact: National Consumers League – Katie Brown, katie@nclnet.org, (202) 207-2832
Washington, D.C. – The National Consumers League (“NCL”), America’s oldest consumer advocacy organization, today joined a bipartisan coalition of voices calling on Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to update automotive crash testing standards to require the use of advanced female crash test dummies.
The following statement is attributable to NCL Executive Director Sally Greenberg:
“Consumers count on the 5-Star Safety Ratings System to provide essential information about vehicle safety and crashworthiness. Sadly, even in 2022, these safety ratings are more protective of men than women. The mobile billboard on display outside the Department of Transportation this week provides a stark reminder that crash tests based on a 1970s stereotype that women don’t drive should have been fixed long before 2022. Consumers believe and expect that crashworthiness standards will be as strong for females as for males, with the same quality and quantity of crash testing. Disappointingly, that is not the case. Secretary Buttigieg has the opportunity to reduce the risk to women of injury and death by finally requiring the use of advanced female crash dummies. For the first time in the history of the 5-Star Safety Ratings System, DOT should put women crash dummies in the driver’s seat.”
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About the National Consumers League (NCL)
The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.
