Injured California women die underrepresented in crash-tests.

Seat belts fit men and women differently. Men and women are not just different heights and weights. Men tend to gain weight in the abdominal area and women gain weight around their waists and thighs. The most frequent complaint about automotive seat belts is that they irritate drivers' necks. The seatbelt belongs over the driver's hips and under the driver's stomach. The driver sits safely at least 10 inches away from the steering wheel. Women tend to be more vulnerable than men during head-on collisions because they suffer injuries from airbags and the steering wheel.

Car accidents injure or kill 50 to 73% more California women than men annually. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), decades of research and human factors engineering goes into the creation and calibration of each male or female crash dummy. Female crash dummies are five feet tall, and they weigh 110 pounds. Becky Mueller, IIHS senior research engineer, reports that it will take at least 10 years of real accident and injury data to create more accurate crash-dummies. IIHS is waiting patiently for real accident victims' data to be collected.

Women's hips tend to be broader than men's. The biological differences between men and women are nothing new. Does it really take 10 years to design and build anatomically correct crash dummies?

In a situation where a person was injured or someone died in a car accident in the state of California, an experienced personal injury lawyer may be able to prove that a third-party breached a duty to the injured party and is liable for his or her injuries or the death of a loved one. The personal injury lawyer may be able to negotiate a settlement or prepare the case for trial to obtain financial compensation for medical expenses and other losses.