Researchers have found that females in the front seat of a car are 73 percent more likely than males to be injured in a crash and 17 percent more likely to die. While new high-tech female crash test dummies have been available for years, the government doesn’t require them, so most crash tests substitute smaller male dummies to represent the females. NBC News’ Tom Costello is looking into the impact this could have on female crash victims and survivors.

A mobile billboard from the group Verity Now has been circling the Department of Transportation in Southeast D.C. throughout the week.

We are speaking up for the women who are severely injured in car crashes and, for the women who can no longer speak up for themselves. Requiring equal protection for women and men in crash testing is not partisan and it is not radical. In fact, it’s consistent with the gender equity goals the Biden administration has already set. By making cars safer for women, the Department of Transportation has an opportunity to make good on that promise.

Crash test dummies are meant to mimic human bodies in crashes, and show where cars need to be made safer. They are also huge investments - an absolutely stripped down legacy model will start at $100,000 and the latest crash test dummies run closer to $1,000,000. While they have come a long way from primitive designs, the latest generation is meant to better resemble humans in their different forms. New dummies are also packed with sensors and other tech. But some institutions are not signing on yet.

More than five dozen lawmakers want the leader of the Department of Transportation to step in and address the gender gap in vehicle safety. A group of 66 members of Congress, led by Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Rep. Brenda Lawrence (D-MI), Rep. Kathy Castor (D-FL), Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) and Del. Eleanor Holmes-Norton (D-DC), sent a letter to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg on Feb. 15 asking him to unilaterally update federal crash test processes and equipment to not only use the most updated equipment, but to make sure male and female crash test dummies are used equally.

Significant updates proposed to the federal government's flagship 5-Star Safety Rating program do nothing to address the higher risk faced by female drivers. Why it matters: Women face a higher risk than men of being seriously injured or killed in a crash — but most vehicle safety systems are tested using male crash test dummies. Designing safety technologies to protect "the average male" leaves everyone else more vulnerable, safety advocates say.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is being urged to update vehicle crash testing immediately to include the most up-to-date models of female crash dummies in both the driver and passenger seats in place of a historical reliance on male dummies.

Michigan Congresswoman Brenda Lawrence and 65 other lawmakers are urging the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to use more accurate, updated female crash test dummies.