Calls on Congress to pass her She DRIVES Act to make NHTSA’s updated crash testing standards permanent... Now it’s time to pass my legislation to ensure future National Highway Traffic Safety Administrations do not slow or deprioritize these important efforts. It’s far past time to make these testing standards permanent, which will help save thousands of lives and make America’s roads safer for all drivers. I'm ready to finish the job.
Work to pass the She DRIVES Act to require the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to permanently adopt updated crash testing standards that include the use of advanced female crash test dummies for enhanced passenger vehicle safety.
Occurrences
Evidence
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) released new research proving that women are at higher risk of injury than men during vehicular crashes. This study underscores the importance of the Trump Administration's progress in launching the first-of-its-kind advanced female crash test dummy, as well as the Department's ongoing efforts to advance safety for American families.
U.S. Senator Deb Fischer released a statement after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced its new advanced female crash test dummy. She emphasized the need to pass her She DRIVES Act to ensure future NHTSA administrations do not slow or deprioritize these important efforts.
The U.S. government announced major design changes to make the female version of the vehicle crash test dummy more lifelike. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy stated that the Department of Transportation will consider using the new dummy in the government's vehicle crash test five-star ratings once a final rule is adopted.
Latest Action: Senate - 07/31/2025 Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 141. Tracker: Tip This bill has the status Introduced.
This report to Congress summarizes the progress the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has made with advanced small female anthropomorphic test devices, THOR-05F and WorldSID-05F, and provides the status of broader female crash safety research efforts at NHTSA.
Assessments
The promised outcome was to work to pass the She DRIVES Act so NHTSA would be permanently required to adopt updated crash-testing standards using advanced female crash test dummies. Fischer sponsored S.161 in the 119th Congress, and it was reported from committee and placed on the Senate calendar on July 31, 2025, showing a serious legislative effort. However, as of the latest available Congress.gov status, the bill remained introduced/on the Senate calendar and had not passed Congress or become law. NHTSA and DOT activity on advanced female crash test dummies shows related administrative progress, but not enactment of Fischer's promised statutory requirement.
While NHTSA developed and endorsed the use of advanced female crash test dummies, and Senator Fischer publicly advocated for related action, there is no evidence that the She DRIVES Act itself was passed or that NHTSA was permanently required to adopt the new standards via legislation. Progress was made through administrative actions and public advocacy, but not by fulfilling the specific legislative promise.