Projo Cars Blog

DETROIT — Ford has redesigned the midsection of child-size crash-test dummies to help carmakers invent seat belts that could protect children against abdominal injuries, according to USA Today.

Ford is hoping the new dummy will become the international standard for child crash dummies, helping researchers better understand the forces that act on children's bellies in an accident.

Children ages 4 to 8, who typically no longer ride in booster seats, are 25 times more likely than younger children to sustain serious abdominal injuries.

Overall, fatality rates in the USA are on the decline, but abdominal injuries have become one of the most common for young children, and serious injuries can occur even in slow crashes.

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