We have covered the shocking statistics and logistics of the inequality of safety for women in cars, but what about pregnant women?
Importance in the Protection of Pregnant Individuals
Pregnant women are truly remarkable and should be valued and respected for the incredible journey they undertake. Being a mother is a huge responsibility and carries with it a great deal of weight, both physically and emotionally. It's essential to provide pregnant women with the necessary care and support during this critical time. Pregnant women are essential to society's continuation and contribute to its growth in immeasurable ways. It's crucial that we recognise their importance and show them the appreciation and respect they deserve. Yet for pregnant women driving and being driven, the situation is even worse than you can imagine.
The Issue At Hand
Despite the creation of a pregnant crash-test dummy back in 1996, the government still doesn't mandate testing with it in either the US or the EU. Shockingly, car crashes are the leading cause of foetal death due to maternal trauma. According to research from 2004, pregnant women should use standard seat belts, but a concerning 62% of third-trimester pregnant women don't fit the design. To make matters worse, a three-point seat belt can ride up on women who carry low, significantly increasing force transmission to the abdomen compared to when the belt is worn below the uterus. Unfortunately, this issue is not limited to pregnant women alone. Standard seat belts aren't ideal for non-pregnant women either. Many of us wear seat belts improperly to accommodate our breasts, increasing the risk of injury in the event of an accident. Pregnancy is a time of significant bodily changes, and breast size changes can also affect seat-belt efficacy by affecting the position. It's disheartening to see that we have data on these issues, yet we continue to ignore it.
Existing Solutions
The Three-Point Seat Belt
What is it?
A 3 Point Seat Belt is an essential safety harness designed in a "Y" shaped configuration, consisting of three mounting points - a right lap mount, a left lap mount, and a shoulder mount. These belts are crucial in restraining the chest and shoulder portions of a passenger during a collision, reducing the risk of injury.
Retractable 3-Point Seat Belts, in particular, feature an Inertia Locking Retractor Mechanism that stores and retracts webbing when not in use. The retractor also keeps the webbing in place when in use, providing a snug fit for passengers without being restrictive. The retractors spool freely under normal use but lock up immediately when a sharp tug on the webbing engages the centrifugal clutch inside the retractor housing.
My Thoughts - The Three-Point Seat Belt
Yes, they exist. But as we have covered, women who carry low during pregnancy may experience a three-point seat belt riding up, which can significantly increase the force transmission to the abdomen. Furthermore, it is so expensive! The websites which I have looked at range from £60-£200, and that is without the mounting hardware. It's also not an easy installation to do correctly and companies do not give specific installation instructions due to the variety of installation methods in different cars. Which, yet again, you have to pay for! Where is the equality in that? It is not our fault that car design does not yet factor in women's safety as much as it should. Surely this should be more accessible.
Tummy Sheild
The Tummy Shield features a specially engineered, patented, and extensively tested single-piece stainless steel assembly consisting of a plate and anchor. This assembly is moulded inside a comfortable cushion and cover that meets non-flammability requirements. Additionally, the entire assembly is restrained with a webbing strap made of the same type of webbing as seat belts, albeit in a smaller size. This strap is designed to wrap around the vehicle seat and is secured with a buckle, providing a secure and safe fit for pregnant women while travelling.
There's a difference between 'unregulated' and 'unsafe.' I am the technician who test-drove it in my most recent pregnancy. I really did like it. .... Sadly, we don't have any standards to test these products against so it's up to the consumer to make the best guess she can. But the fact is that seat belts don't have to pass any pregnancy-related safety standards either so NOT using the Tummy Shield is just as much of a judgment call.
~ E.P., Child Passenger Safety Technician
My Thoughts - Tummy Sheild
Albeit is being a step forward, I am a bit sceptical of the fact that it has not been able to be thoroughly tested. They stated, "One of the biggest challenges the inventor faced is that the technology has not been invented yet to accurately duplicate the experience of an unborn baby in the womb during a crash scenario nor is there a test dummy that truly represents the anatomy of a human much less a pregnant woman. The inventor was then left to use the available testing technology and most applicable standards, though not specifically for their product, and strive to infer the effects of the product using the best science available." This is of course through no fault of their own, the industry is failing them and pregnant women around the world through the lack of pregnant crash-test dummies. This is an interesting area I would perhaps like to pursue in my future career.
Volvo Press Release 2003
To address this gap, Volvo Car Corporation has taken a groundbreaking step by developing the world's first official computer model of a pregnant crash dummy. This 'virtual' crash dummy is designed to simulate a woman in the late stages of pregnancy, as this is the period when the unborn baby is at the greatest risk in the event of an accident. The basic geometry of the model was completed in January 2002, and since then, engineers and designers have devoted considerable time to refining and improving the model to enhance their understanding of the safety risks posed to pregnant women and their unborn children during a car crash.
The primary objective of the initial tests is to investigate how the virtual mother-to-be and her unborn baby are impacted by the seat belt and airbag in simulated collisions. Thanks to the computer model, researchers can now examine in great detail how the seat belt moves and assess the impact of both the seat belt and airbag on critical areas like the uterus, placenta, and fetus. The model also allows researchers to analyse how the fetus moves relative to the mother's body, among other factors. This innovative model is highly versatile and can be used to evaluate the efficacy of new designs for seat belts and other safety systems in a simulated environment. Overall, this cutting-edge technology provides researchers with an unparalleled opportunity to study and improve the safety of pregnant women and their unborn children in the event of a car accident.
My Thoughts - Volvo Press Release 2003
I am excited to see what Volvo do with its research. Although, this model was ready in 2002... from my own research I have found through professionals that 15 years of research in this field has to be given to gain sufficient data in order to produce an effective product. So 2002 + 15 = 2014.... Volvo, where is the actual solution?
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