Ways sought to protect fetuses in crashes

BLACKSBURG, Va., Dec. 8 (UPI) -- Between 300 and 1,000 unborn babies die in car accidents each year, but officials at the Ford Motor Co. and researchers say they want to lower that number.

Stefan Duma of the Virginia Tech/Wake Forest School of Biomedical Engineering -- a joint venture of the Virginia Tech College of Engineering, in Blacksburg, Va., and the Wake Forest University School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, N.C., says women are often driving to work today much longer into their pregnancies, thus increasing chances of having an automobile accident in which their fetuses are hurt.

"There is no silver bullet to solving these problems," Duma said in a statement. However, Duma and colleagues have been working with Ford researchers for the past three years to gather data for a computer-aided model of a pregnant woman for virtual crash test simulations.

The "pregnant" crash test model would add to Ford's use of computerized adult test models that show how crash forces might injure skeletal structures, internal organs and the brain.

Starting in 2010, Ford, Lincoln and Mercury models will include owner's guide information and instructions specifically to help pregnant women buckle up properly, Ford officials said.