Amidst an intensely partisan lame-duck session, Senators Britt and Hickenlooper joined a growing coalition of Senators from both sides of the aisle to support the She Develops Regulations in Vehicle Equality and Safety (She DRIVES) Act, S. 4299, and finally end the fatal gender-based discrimination in car safety testing.

[Washington, D.C.] – At a time of partisan gridlock and infighting, the bipartisan She Develops Regulations in Vehicle Equality and Safety (She DRIVES) Act, S. 4299, is gaining momentum on both sides of the aisle. In recent days, Appropriations Committee Vice Chair Senator Susan Collins (R-ME), Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden (D-OR), Senator John Cornyn (R-TX), and Rural Development and Energy Subcommittee Chair Peter Welch (D-VT) joined Senate President Pro Tempore and Appropriations Committee Chair Patty Murray (D-WA), Senator Deb Fischer (R-NE), Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Environment and Public Works Committee Ranking Member Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va), Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee Chair Sherrod Brown (D-OH), and Senator Raphael Warnock (D-GA), to cosponsor the She DRIVES Act. This bill would require that the Department of Transportation (DOT) incorporate the most advanced female crash test dummy in car safety testing, strengthening automotive safety standards for every body on the road.

[Washington, D.C.] – Wednesday, U.S. Congresswoman Chellie Pingree led 52 of her Democratic Women’s Caucus colleagues in sending a letter to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Acting Administrator Sophie Shulman, urging her to incorporate an accurate female crash test dummy in car safety testing, and end the lethal gender-based discrimination in American vehicle safety. The legislators’ letter, sent on October 1st, comes after NHTSA postponed another rulemaking on female crash test dummies, originally scheduled in December 2023, then rescheduled for September 2024, and again for May 2025. The all-female coalition stresses the urgency of a rulemaking to incorporate the most advanced female crash test dummy, and to test it in the driver’s seat.

Lawmakers are urging traffic safety leaders to update crash test dummy standards in a letter aiming to advocate for women's safety behind the wheel.