The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), a private body that conducts its own crash tests, has started putting smaller dummies in the rear seats of certain vehicles to ascertain how well protected younger occupants are. The office also found that the limited ways in which the dummies are used could reduce their effectiveness as a research tool. Read: Most Midsize SUVs Fall Short In IIHS’s Rear Seat Crash Tests Placing Adults And Kids At Risk

“For example, currently used dummies represent a limited range of body sizes, do not reflect some physiological differences between males and females, and do not have sensors to collect data in the lower legs.” “Some characteristics of dummies currently used for NHTSA‘s crash tests may limit the extent to which the information the dummies provide helps mitigate greater risks faced by certain demographic groups,” the GAO wrote. NHTSA should, therefore, introduce crash test dummies that represent a broader variety of population groups.

That’s the result of a new study from the Government Accountability Office (GAO), which looked into how the federal automotive safety regulator rates the crash worthiness of new vehicles.

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