She DRIVES Act
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The She DRIVES Act would require the Department of Transportation to update federal vehicle safety standards to mandate crash testing with female-sized crash test dummies — alongside male dummies — for both frontal and side impacts in all front seat positions of new passenger vehicles.
For decades, federal crash tests have relied primarily on dummies modeled on the average male body. This bill would close that gap by directing mandatory rulemaking on a fixed schedule, potentially reshaping how automakers design safety systems to protect female occupants.
What this bill would do
What it would do
The bill would direct the Secretary of Transportation to revise federal motor vehicle safety regulations to require both male and female crash test dummies in frontal and side impact testing. Within 15 days of enactment, DOT would have to formally add the 50th-percentile adult male THOR and 5th-percentile adult female THOR frontal impact dummies to the relevant regulations, with final rules mandating their use due within 180 and 120 days respectively. Within 18 months, DOT would similarly add Worldwide Harmonized Side Impact Dummies in both male and female sizes, with a final rule due within 30 months. For both crash types, DOT would have to establish injury criteria — covering head, neck, chest, abdomen, pelvis, and leg — grounded in real-world injury data, and must create female-occupant crashworthiness tests for all front seat positions currently tested only for males.
The bill would also require DOT to update the New Car Assessment Program to use these dummies in its consumer-facing safety ratings, and to submit two roadmap reports to Congress: an initial report within one year on timelines for incorporating additional dummies and international comparisons, and a follow-up report five years later on progress made.
Key provisions
- 1Would require DOT to add male THOR and female THOR frontal impact dummies to federal safety regulations within 15 days, and issue final rules mandating their use within 180 and 120 days of enactment, respectively.
- 2Would require final rules to establish injury criteria — head, neck, chest, abdomen, pelvis, upper and lower leg — for the frontal impact dummies, based on real-world injuries and greatest safety potential.
- 3Would require frontal impact crash tests using female dummies for adult female occupants in all front seating positions currently tested for adult male occupants.
- 4Would require DOT to add male and female Worldwide Harmonized Side Impact Dummies to federal safety regulations within 18 months, and issue a final rule within 30 months, with parallel injury criteria and female-occupant side-impact tests.
- 5Would require DOT to update New Car Assessment Program testing procedures to mandate use of the new male and female frontal and side impact dummies for consumer-facing safety ratings.
- 6Would require DOT to submit an initial report to Congress within one year identifying timelines for additional dummies, international comparisons, and a process for adopting more advanced foreign testing devices.
- 7Would require a follow-up report to Congress five years after the initial report assessing DOT's progress and identifying newer international testing devices.
Who would be affected
Auto manufacturers whose vehicles must meet updated crashworthiness standards that include female crash test dummy results; the Department of Transportation and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which must issue multiple rulemakings on tight statutory deadlines; and ultimately all new-vehicle buyers — particularly women, who may be underprotected by vehicle safety systems historically calibrated to male-only test data.
Why it matters
If enacted, automakers would face a concrete legal obligation to design and validate safety restraint systems — airbags, seatbelts, seat structures — for a female body type, not just the historically standard male dummy. Women have been shown to suffer higher injury rates in certain crash scenarios, and mandatory female-dummy testing could drive design changes that reduce those injuries across the U.S. vehicle fleet.
What would change
Changes to existing law
Amends Parts 571 and 572 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations (Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards) (Sec. 3)
Directs DOT to revise these regulations to include THOR frontal impact dummies and Worldwide Harmonized Side Impact Dummies, both male and female, and to mandate their use in crashworthiness testing.
Amends New Car Assessment Program (Sec. 4)
Requires DOT to update NCAP testing procedures to mandate use of male and female THOR and side impact dummies for consumer-facing crashworthiness ratings.
Agencies directed to act
Effective dates
- DOT must add THOR frontal impact dummies (male and female) to federal safety regulations
- Notice of proposed rulemaking for female THOR frontal impact dummy
- Final rule requiring female THOR frontal impact dummy
- Final rule requiring male THOR frontal impact dummy
- Initial roadmap report to Congress on additional crash test dummies
- DOT must add Worldwide Harmonized Side Impact Dummies (male and female) to federal safety regulations
- Notice of proposed rulemaking for side impact dummies
- Final rule requiring use of male and female side impact dummies
- Follow-up report to Congress on DOT progress and new international testing devices
Funding and costs
Congressional Budget Office estimate
CBO estimates the She DRIVES Act would cost $14 million in discretionary spending (subject to appropriation) over the 2025–2030 period, with no effect on direct spending, revenues, or the deficit.
CBO estimates that implementing S. 161 would require $14 million in spending subject to appropriation over the 2025–2030 period, driven primarily by roughly $3 million per year beginning in 2027 for additional crash-test vehicles and about $500,000 per year for staff and equipment at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The bill would have no effect on direct (mandatory) spending, revenues, or the federal deficit. CBO identified a private-sector mandate — requiring vehicle manufacturers to replace crash-test devices with more advanced models representing female drivers — but estimated the total cost to manufacturers would fall below the statutory threshold under the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act ($206 million in 2025). No intergovernmental mandates were identified.
How implementation would work
DOT would work through formal notice-and-comment rulemaking on a statutory timetable: a proposed rule followed by a final rule for each crash type. For the New Car Assessment Program updates, the Secretary would issue a final decision notice — a program-level administrative action — timed to coincide with the relevant final rules where possible, but allowed to trail them if concurrent issuance would cause delay. DOT would also benchmark against international programs, such as the European New Car Assessment Programme, and report progress to Senate and House commerce committees.
Legislative status & sources
Latest action
Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 141.
Official CRS summary
Show the CRS summaryHide the CRS summary
This bill directs the Department of Transportation (DOT) to revise motor vehicle safety standards to require the use of certain anthropomorphic test devices (i.e., crash test dummies) and testing on female crash test dummies.
Specifically, DOT must issue final rules to revise the current testing regulations to include specific adult male and adult female frontal impact and side impact crash test dummies.
The final rules must establish or update the testing injury criteria based on real-world injuries and the greatest potential to increase safety. The injury criteria must include head, neck, chest, abdomen, pelvis, upper leg, and lower leg criteria for the crash test dummies.
The final rules must also establish crashworthiness frontal and side impact tests for adult female occupants in all front seating positions that are currently tested for adult male occupants (as of the date of the bill's enactment).
Further, DOT must promulgate a final decision notice to update the testing procedures for the New Car Assessment Program of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to require the use of these crash test dummies for frontal and side impact crashworthiness testing.
Finally, DOT must submit reports to Congress that, among other things, identify timelines for DOT to incorporate additional types of crash test dummies into the regulations and identify testing devices used in other countries for similar crashworthiness standards.
Legislative subjects
Accidents; Administrative law and regulatory procedures; Congressional oversight; Department of Transportation; Motor vehicles; Transportation and Public Works; Transportation safety and security
Committee report
S. Rept. 119-56