Don’t Strain Your Neck
Every year, more than 740,000 people suffer from whiplash after being rear-ended in car accidents. And experts say many of the victims could have avoided the pain if they had properly adjusted the headrests of their seats.
“Most people leave it in the down position,” said John Brault, senior lead researcher at Biomechanics Research and Consulting in El Segundo. “People think that [head restraints] are there for comfort, not safety.”
And a survey released this spring by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, a think tank financed by insurance companies, indicates that the headrests on many cars simply don’t offer adequate protection.
“Overall the situation is poor, but it is improving,” said Adrian Lund, senior vice president for research for the institute.
Whiplash is an injury to the cervical vertebrae and adjacent soft tissues that occurs from a sudden jerking, or backward or forward acceleration, of the head. One source of this injury is a vehicle that is suddenly and forcibly struck from the rear. The biggest danger with whiplash injuries is that the symptoms can take years to develop, according to medical professionals.
Adjust to Ear Level
Experts agree that for a headrest to work, it must reach at or above the driver’s ear level. It also has to be less than 6 inches from the back of the driver’s head. In fact, the distance between the restraint and the head should be as small as possible. The current standards require seats with head restraints to be at least 27.5 inches tall. There is no requirement for the distance between restraints and drivers’ heads.
The Insurance Institute checked more than 130 car models and found that only six offered good protection.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which conducted its own head restraint survey, offered slightly more optimistic results. It found that 59% of adjustable headrests and 77% of fixed headrests are at or above the occupants’ ear level. About 69% of adjustable and 77% of fixed head restraints are also less than 4 inches from the driver’s head.
Most Improperly Used
A major problem, according to safety officials: Most car companies fail to tell their customers that they should adjust head restraints to their height.
“People don’t recognize how important the headrest is in a rear-end accident,” said John Montevideo, a personal injury attorney who has dealt with hundreds of whiplash cases. “And I don’t think the public is educated well enough [about that].”
That is slowly changing.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has promised it will revise its head-restraint standards, a move applauded by consumer groups and the insurance institute. The institute recommends following the European standard which require that seats and headrests be made slightly taller. Such a change would better protect tall drivers, advocates say.
Some companies, like Saab, are using “dynamic seats” that automatically adjust their head restraints into the best position in the event of a rear-end crash.
Experts advise drivers who are about to be hit from the rear to prop their head against the restraint, stare straight ahead and keep their foot on the brake to avoid injury.
