A Statement from VERITY Now on the Continued Inaction by DOT a Year After GAO Report on Vehicle Safety Testing Disparities

Over a year has passed since the Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued a critical report urging the Department of Transportation (DOT) to address disparities in vehicle safety testing. This report confirmed what VERITY Now and so many other advocates have been saying for years: women are far more likely to be injured or killed in car crashes because of outdated tests and crash test dummies that do not accurately reflect their bodies. Despite this, the anniversary of the report came and went last week with no meaningful action from the Department. This marks yet another missed deadline in a long series of delays.

Last year, the GAO called for “...a comprehensive plan to respond to these risks, including timeframes and mechanisms for communication… to improve safety for all, including those who face greater risks.”  However, Secretary Pete Buttigieg's department seems unmoved by these requests. The DOT appears to be mired in a cycle of endless research. This research, while surely interesting on an academic level, is not producing tangible improvements in crash test standards that would save lives now. It also persists in treating men as the baseline for safety: blatantly ignoring the diverse needs of any other vehicle occupants.

It's disheartening to see, especially as a growing chorus of voices demand change. The recent passage of the Appropriations Act by Congress explicitly demands action on this issue. Secretary Buttigieg himself has often been vocally supportive. Yet, there appears to be no plan in sight—only endless research. Worse, it’s not the kind of research that leads to deployment, but it is being used as an excuse for delay. That’s not good enough. The time for deployment is not just now; it was yesterday.

These delays are frustrating, incomprehensible, and frankly unconscionable. Women are dying every year because of this problem. The tests and technology to save these lives exists. We just need DOT to do its job and protect Americans on the road.