Swedes design female crash-test dummy

Us girls may do alright when it comes to motoring, what with cheap prices from women's car insurance specialists, but traditionally we've been left behind when it comes to road safety. But now it seems that things are starting to change, and about time too.

Have you ever noticed how all the crash-test dummies you see on TV are men? To be honest, you've probably never thought about it, but take my word for it, there's never ever been a single female one.

You should've noticed by now that our bodies are just a little different to our male counterparts, and so think about the different sort of stresses and strains we undergo in car accidents, and it's never really been investigated because they only ever use dummies of men to test out new cars.

But now all that's changed, because boffins in Sweden have announced that they are developing the world's first ever female crash-test dummy. Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg and the country's National Road and Transport Research Institute have teamed up to study how a women's body moves as the first step towards creating their lady dummy.

The importance of the new research was highlighted by a member of the team, who said, "For neck injuries from rear-end collisions and whiplash, the risk for women is twice as high for men."

Craig Handy, spokesman for CoverGirl Car Insurance Services, specialists in providing cheap deals on women's car insurance, said, "It's about time manufacturers starting paying more attention to the needs of women.

"Only a few weeks ago a new, more comfortable seatbelt for girls was unveiled, and now they're starting to think about female crash-test dummies. Women motorists are finally getting the attention they deserve."