Researchers at Purdue University (2007) report that age and gender may have significant effects on the severity of injuries sustained in a car crash. The research, published in The Journal of Safety Research (Islam & Mannering, 2006) was based on Indiana traffic data from 1999. The authors suggest that vehicles designed to adapt to the specific drivers could lessen the severity of injuries. For example, rollover accidents are especially dangerous for older women (over 65). Middle-aged men (25-64) were more likely to have a fatality falling asleep at the wheel, while middle-aged women were more likely to have a fatality on a curvy road. Ulfarsson and Mannering (2004) compared gender outcomes in SUV-related crashes, and found that striking a guardrail was a major risk for female drivers, while male drivers had an increased risk of fatality in SUV-related collisions on starting.

Lee Evans (2006) points out that males are more likely than females to die in traffic accidents starting in infancy. In terms of non-physical impact of an automobile accident, Stallard et al (2004) found that among children (7-18 years), girls were more likely than boys to develop PTSD following a traffic accident.

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There's a tradition among women in my family of flipping VW vans. This "tradition" gets mentioned at family gatherings every couple of years. At least 3 women in my family have done it. I was in the van for one of them -- in a car seat, because I was all of 4 years old. Other accidents in my family have been almost entirely overshadowed by this "pattern" -- including my biggest accident as driver, a head-on collision.