VERITY NOW CALLS FOR CRASH TEST UPDATES AFTER NEW DATA SHOWS TRAFFIC FATALITIES RISING AT RECORD RATE

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, VERITY NOW released a statement in response to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA’s) release of new data showing there were 31,720 vehicle traffic fatalities in the first nine months of 2021. That is the highest number of fatalities during the first nine months of the year since 2006 and the highest percentage increase during the first nine months in the recorded history of data in the Fatality Analysis Reporting System, according to NHTSA.

“Over 30,000 traffic fatalities in just nine months of 2021 is a poignant reminder that our government needs to do more to make cars safer for everyone. Currently, NHTSA’s 5-star safety rating program assesses only male dummies in the driver’s seat for frontal crash tests, even though women make up the majority of drivers. As a result, women are 17% more likely to die and 73% more likely to be severely injured in a car crash than men,” said VERITY NOW Co-Chair Beth Brooke, former Global Vice Chair of Public Policy for EY. “As car crash deaths soar, it’s long past time to integrate female dummies into the driver’s seat for all crash tests, and to ensure that cars are safe for all Americans.”

“These new fatality numbers make it clear that our car safety crisis is worsening. Although U.S. car crash fatalities are now rising at their highest rate in 15 years, other countries with updated crash test standards have seen their automobile fatality rates steadily decline. Americans are suffering while our government refuses to update its vehicle crash testing standards and practices to make cars safer for women,” said VERITY NOW Co-Chair former Congresswoman Susan Molinari. “It is simply unacceptable that NHTSA’s 5-star safety rating program is still based on a 40-year-old stereotype that only men drive on the highway. The Biden administration should act now to correct this government-sanctioned discrimination.”

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VERITY (Vehicle Equity Rules in Transportation) NOW is a coalition voicing concern about these inequities and raising awareness with policymakers in the U.S. and E.U. who have the power to fix them. VERITY NOW strives to achieve equity in vehicle safety by educating on, and advocating for, crash testing standards that protect everybody, regardless of gender, height, weight or age.