Head Restraints:
Improving Safety

Increasingly, head restraints are getting serious attention, resulting in more new vehicles coming to market with improved head restraints, even some with new designs that provide advanced protection.

"More and more automakers are finally getting the message," said Adrian Lund, chief operating officer of the insurance industry-funded Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). "In 1995, unless you were short [in stature], it was hard to find a car with a head restraint high enough to provide protection. But now, even taller people have a good chance of getting head restraints that will protect them. This marks a sea change."

Comparisons Show Gains
For example, just six percent of 1999 model cars and vans examined by the IIHS earned a "good" rating for their head restraints. The list had only these eight car models: The 1999 BMW Z3 coupe, Volkswagen New Beetle, Saab 9-3 and 9-5 models and Volvo C70, S70, V70 cars and S80 cars. Another 29 percent, or 39 vehicles, ranked "acceptable."

But in the 2001 model year, the IIHS found 39 cars—or 30 percent of those studied—had head restraints rated "good." Another 23 percent had "acceptable" head restraints.

The 2001 cars with "good" head restraints were Audi A4/S4, A6, allroad and TT roadster Quattro, BMW 5- and 3-Series, Buick LeSabre, Chrysler PT Cruiser, Dodge Intrepid, Neon and Stratus, Ford Focus and Taurus, Hyundai Elantra, Infiniti I30 and Q45, Kia Spectra, Lexus GS 300, IS 300 and LS 430, Mercedes C-Class, E-Class and S-Class, Mercury Sable, Nissan Maxima, Oldsmobile Aurora, Pontiac Bonneville, Saab 9-3 and 9-5, Toyota Echo, MR2 and Prius, Volkswagen Golf and New Beetle, and Volvo C70, S40/V40, S60, S80 and V70.

Three of the 12 vans studied in the 2001 model year had "good" head restraints. They were the Dodge Grand Caravan, Ford Windstar and Pontiac Montana. Two others—the 2001 Chevrolet Venture and Chrysler Town & Country—were in the "acceptable" category.

SUVs Improving, Too
In the popular sport utility segment, there's even more good news.

Where only two SUVs—the Chevrolet Blazer and Mitsubishi Montero—had "good" head restraints among the three dozen 1999 sport-utility vehicles the IIHS examined, the 2001 model year found ten among 48 SUV models. They are the 2001 Chevrolet Tracker, GMC Jimmy, Hyundai Santa Fe, Infiniti QX4, Lexus LX 470 and RX 300, Nissan Xterra and Toyota Highlander, RAV4 and Sequoia.

Pickup trucks continue to lag, with just 21 percent, or three of 10 models, rated as having "good" head restraints in the 2001 model year. They were the Chevrolet S-10, GMC Sonoma and Toyota Tundra. This compares with only two nameplates—the Chevrolet S-10 and GMC Sonoma, each a version of the same compact pickup — that ranked with "good" head restraints in the 1999 model year.

Medical Journal Reports Reduced Injuries
Saab introduced "smart" head restraints for its front seats in the 1998 model year. The normal-looking restraints work by moving closer to a person's head during an emergency while remaining comfortably farther away during normal driving. Increased pressure against the seatback—which occurs when an occupant is thrown rearward during a crash—activates the restraint.

This advanced design has been in all Saabs since the 1999 model year.

But in November 2001, the American medical publication, The Journal of Trauma, validated the so-called Saab Active Head Restraint (SAHR) after studying crash results.

"In light of our laboratory tests, we expected to see neck injuries declining by around thirty percent. Now that a couple of years have passed . . . it has emerged that the reality is better than that," says Stefan Ols?n, development engineer in Saab's Collision-Safety Department.

Indeed, The Journal of Trauma reported neck injuries in crashes were down 75 percent in SAHR-equipped Saab 9-3 and 9-5 cars compared with crash results of the earlier-model Saab 900 and 9000 cars.

According to Saab, the inquiry was based on insurance company crash data, and all drivers of the crashed cars answered a questionnaire and were interviewed by telephone.

Besides a marked decline in neck injuries, the study also found that none of the SAHR-equipped seats needed to be replaced or repaired after the crashes.

Others Follow
Volvo added smart head restraints in 1999, and now other automakers, including Buick and Nissan, have been including advanced seat and head restraints in their newer vehicles.

Buick, for example, installs what it calls "Catcher's Mitt high-retention front seats" in its most popular car, the LeSabre. The seats have self-aligning head restraints for improved protection in rear collisions.

Nissan's luxury division, Infiniti, added active head restraints for front-seat riders of its flagship sedan, the Q45, and its redesigned I30 sedan in the 2000 model year. The advanced restraints are used in Japan, too.

Factors Under Review
Still, researchers continue to study exactly what causes whiplash and whether some people are more prone to the injury than others.

In general, whiplash injuries stem from a misalignment of the neck and head. For example, when a vehicle is struck from behind, a person's body may be pushed forward by the seat while an unsupported head may remain in essentially the same position. The resulting head-neck misalignment causes the head to move rearward relative to the neck, which extends and flexes the neck unnaturally.

An analysis of State Farm insurance claims in 38 states by the IIHS indicates drivers with "good" head restraints are 24 percent less likely to report neck injuries in rear-end crashes than drivers with poor restraints, all else being equal.

Also, head restraints may provide different levels of effectiveness, depending on whether the passenger is a man or a woman. The IIHS ratings are all based on the head restraint effectiveness for an "average male."

In a MSN Autos interview, Dr. Michael Kleinberger, chief of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's neck injury research program, noted, "Injuries have been documented at very low speeds, possibly 10 kilometers per hour (6.2 mph)."

Head restraints have been required on the front seats of cars since 1969. However, trucks—including pickups—still are not required to have them; neither are they required in the rear seats of any vehicles, although many now feature them.

Head Restraint Specs
To be effective, a head restraint must be positioned directly behind and very close to the head. The original standard for manufacturers, still in effect, specifies a height not less than 27.5 inches; this is about level with the ears on most people. The distance from the head is specified at not more than 4 inches.

Both specifications are minimums, according to Kleinberger and other experts polled by MSN Autos. There is "significant statistical difference" between the number of neck injuries that occur when restraints are greater than 5 centimeters (approximately 2 inches) from the head and when they are less than that distance away, says Kleinberger.

Note that a vehicle's seatback also can play a role in protecting against whiplash.

In most vehicles, fixed head restraints—the kind that form an extension of the seatback and rise high enough to fully support abrupt head movement during a crash—usually provide better protection than adjustable restraints. This is because few people take the time to adjust movable varieties, according to Kim Hazelbaker, senior vice president of IIHS. "We have drive-by studies showing 90 percent of drivers in cars with head restraints too low," he adds.

Correct Positioning
A correctly positioned head restraint should be:

• directly behind your head, at least level with your ears;
• not more than 4 inches from the rear of your head when you are sitting normally;
• far enough forward to contact your head first, not your neck, in a crash or sudden stop.

When Buying a New or Used Car or Truck
Check the fit of head restraints for all drivers and passengers. Most new cars feature rear-seat head restraints. If they are adjustable, make sure they are easy to operate, lock securely, and can be adjusted to fit all occupants.

• While sitting in the driver's seat, check to make sure head restraints do not interfere with side or rear vision when driving or parking.

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