Women are more likely to sustain injuries in an auto accident because safety features are designed more with men in mind, a study said Thursday.

Combing through a decade of data about U.S. motor vehicle accidents, three researchers found the odds of serious injury for female drivers wearing seat belts were 47 percent higher than those of men in a comparable mishap.

Previous studies have focused on differences in the way men and women drive, but the researchers — writing in the American Journal of Public Health — said another explanation could be the design of safety features.

The positioning of head restraints, for instance, fails to take into account how women's necks are different in size and strength.