Sometimes, for particular injuries and crash conditions—but there is no single, fixed risk difference that applies to every woman, car, or crash. U.S. studies find higher injury risk for women in some comparisons, while estimates of fatality risk in newer vehicles are uncertain. Crash type, vehicle size and model year, occupant characteristics, and the injury being measured all affect the answer.
What does the latest injury analysis show?
In a January 2026 summary, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reported that women had statistically significantly higher injury risk in 26% of 150 crash-injury models. The differences appeared more often for moderate injuries. The 26% is the share of statistical models with a significant result—not the share of crashes in which women were more likely to be hurt.
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The associated report’s abstract describes 25 injury outcomes and data covering NASS-CDS crashes from 2000–2015 and CISS crashes from 2017–2022. It includes occupants aged 13 and older. Estimated odds tended to be higher for females, but varied by injury outcome and crash type. These findings show differences in some modeled comparisons, not a universal rule about all vehicles or crashes.
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Does that mean women are more likely to die in a crash?
Not necessarily. Injury risk and fatality risk are different outcomes, and the estimates depend on which vehicles and crashes are compared. NHTSA’s 2022 analysis estimated the female–male fatality-risk difference for occupants in model-year 2015–2020 vehicles, considering fatal crashes with similar physical impacts. Its estimates were close to zero, but the uncertainty was substantial:
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| Comparison | NHTSA estimate | What it refers to |
|---|---|---|
| Average front-row occupants | 2.9% difference, with an uncertainty interval of ±9.8% | Estimated female–male fatality-risk difference in model-year 2015–2020 vehicles, for fatal crashes with similar physical impacts; NHTSA, 2022. |
| Drivers | 0.5% difference, with an uncertainty interval of ±17.5% | Estimated female–male fatality-risk difference in model-year 2015–2020 vehicles, for fatal crashes with similar physical impacts; NHTSA, 2022. |
Both intervals include zero, so these estimates do not establish a meaningful female–male difference in fatality risk for the comparisons studied. They also do not answer whether one sex has higher odds of a nonfatal injury.
Why did some studies find much larger gaps?
Results change when researchers compare all crashes broadly versus crashes that are more alike. In its 2021 summary of crashes analyzed from 1998–2015, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) reported that women more often drove smaller, lighter vehicles and were more often in the struck vehicle in side-impact and front-into-rear crashes.
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Broad per-crash comparisons
After adjusting for speed and other factors, the study’s initial comparisons found women were 20–28% more likely to be killed and 37–73% more likely to be seriously injured per crash. Those are study-specific results from an older crash period, not estimates of women’s risk in every current car or driving situation.
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Comparisons of more compatible crashes
When researchers restricted the analysis to more compatible crashes, most discrepancies narrowed substantially. That matters because an apparent sex difference can partly reflect differences in vehicle mass, impact direction, or which vehicle was struck—not just how occupants’ bodies respond to a similar impact.
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Injury patterns that may persist
In compatible frontal crashes, IIHS reported that women were more than 2½ times as likely to suffer moderate leg injuries. The estimate for serious leg injuries was about 70% higher, but was not statistically significant. IIHS vice president of vehicle research and study author Jessica Jermakian said: “That said, we found that women are substantially more likely to suffer leg injuries, which is something that will require more investigation.”
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Do crash-test dummies explain the difference?
Crash-test dummies are one relevant limitation, but they do not by themselves explain the observed differences. IIHS says its frontal driver-seat ratings tests use the midsize male Hybrid III dummy. The small female version has some female-specific body dimensions and pelvic design, but is largely based on the midsize male Hybrid III. IIHS said no dummy representing an average-size woman was available in the testing context it described.
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This is a specific description of IIHS’s testing context, not evidence that every crash test everywhere uses only male dummies. Nor does it show that dummy design is the sole cause of injury differences: crash configuration and vehicle choice also affect comparisons, and some injury patterns remain an area for investigation.
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Before treating a percentage as a general statement about safety, check what the study actually compared:
- Outcome: Was it any injury, a particular severity, an injury to a specific body region, or death?
- Crash conditions: Were impact direction, severity, and whether the vehicle was struck or striking accounted for?
- Vehicle: Did the comparison account for mass, type, model year, and safety systems?
- Occupant: Were age, stature, mass, restraint use, and seating position considered?
- Statistical uncertainty: Was the result statistically significant, and does its uncertainty interval include no difference?
The NHTSA fatality estimates and the IIHS injury findings answer different questions. A result about injury odds cannot be substituted for a fatality estimate, and neither supports a single population-wide percentage for all women and men.
What can a car buyer take from the evidence?
The cited U.S. studies do not identify one vehicle as safest for women or establish that every car is more dangerous for women. They show why safety comparisons should be specific to the vehicle generation, crash type, and injury outcome rather than based on a broad headline or a single percentage. The findings should not automatically be generalized to other countries, whose vehicle fleets, safety standards, and crash patterns may differ.
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