Abstract
It has long been recognised that male drivers are at greater risk of being killed in a road crash than female drivers. What is less well recognised is that female drivers have a higher risk of being seriously injured in a road crash. One factor that has been identified as contributing to this trend is that women tend to be less robust than men. Female drivers also tend to sit closer to the steering wheel and this may increase the likelihood of injury in a crash. The issue has taken on greater significance with recent reports of children and small adults, mainly women, killed or injured by the deployment of airbags in crashes. The current study analysed the factors relating to the seating position of male and female drivers.