Car Active eSafety systems can prevent accidents from happening & could save 6123 lives & prevent 135,834 injuries on European roads each year. In the long run we want a world where cars don’t crash.
It seems idiotic to me that so many older cars don't have rear head restraints fitted whilst the driver and passenger gets them! The wife insists we cannot afford to replace our 2004 Fiat Punto. So I'm going to have 2, possibly 3, rear head restraints fitted 'at a cost of several hundred pounds'. It will cost a bomb according to the local Fiat dealer! Why are rear seat passengers so prejudiced against with regard to their safety? How can our childrens necks and life be quantified?!
A research project was undertaken by Thatcham to examine head restraint geometry (the size and shape of the restraint and its position relative to the occupant's head) and its ability to lock. By measuring the 'geometry' of the head restraint - the distance between the top of the head restraint and the top of an average person's head and the distance between the back of the head and the head restraint front surface - a 'geometric' plot can be calculated.
Using one of four 'zones', a head restraint can be then rated as 'Good', 'Acceptable', 'Marginal' or 'Poor'. The rating given depends upon the restraint's size and shape, its adjustment, and whether it locks in the 'up' position. Research has shown that a locking head restraint offers more protection than those that do not lock and that they are more likely to remain adjusted once set.
The work undertaken by Thatcham and other research centres in Canada, US and Australia has resulted in a new international procedure for the static rating of head restraints. Published under the auspices of RCAR, the Research Council for Automobile Repairs, it is the first time a safety rating procedure has been harmonised throughout the world and is influencing vehicle designers to place 'Good' geometry onto their list of safety priorities.
Head Restraint Geometry Ratings have been published for a number of years and now form an integral part of the Thatcham 'Rear Impact Protection' ratings.
Whiplash, although officially classed as a minor injury, can lead to long painful and debilitating symptoms for many years. Not uncommon in frontal and side crashes, whiplash most often occurs in low speed, rear crashes. The injury mechanism of whiplash is poorly understood, so it is the subject of intense global research. Recent work has focused on the possibility of nerve damage in the spinal canal, face and joints due to the rapid acceleration of the body relative to the head.
Mild symptoms involve stiffness and tenderness of the muscles in the upper back and neck, headaches and dizziness. Such cases are classed as short term and can last up to three months. More serious, long term cases can involve permanent impairment, neurological and musculoskeletal injures. Whiplash is difficult to diagnose and difficult to treat, and is also expensive. Soft tissue neck injuries currently cost British insurers nearly £2 billion annually and account for over 80% of the total cost of personal injury claims.
How to Adjust Your Head Restraint
To be effective, a head restraint must be as close to the back of the head as possible (touching is best) and the top of the restraint should be as high as the top of the head. Remember it is a head restraint, not a headrest.
Safety: You now have a choice (at almost every price range)
Wide Choice of 'GOOD' Seats
With improvements in seat and head restraint design for protection against whiplash injuries drivers now have an even wider choice of seats to protect their necks, thanks to Thatcham's continued testing of vehicle seats. However small cars still do not offer enough protection — and they need it most.
Small City cars still need better seats
With environmental and cost pressures becoming ever greater, very small or City cars are becoming increasingly popular. City cars are designed for the urban environment and spend the majority of their time in traffic — and this is where most whiplash injuries occur, due to low speed shunts.
But no City cars have a seat and head restraint rated as 'GOOD' for protection against whiplash injuries, even though these are some of the latest designs. These cars need the best protection because they are smaller and lighter and more susceptible to high forces in a rear end crash. These City cars are not equipped to protect their occupants' necks when they have to absorb the crash energy from larger, heavier vehicles.
The only two City cars to achieve an 'ACCEPTABLE' rating were the Renault Twingo and the Smart Fortwo. The majority of the other nine City cars were rated as 'MARGINAL', with the current Ford Ka and Fiat Panda rated as 'POOR'. Even the recently released Fiat 500 — new for 2008 — only achieved a 'MARGINAL' rating.
Fiat 500: MARGINAL
Neck protection is not much better in the class above. Two thirds of the Supermini cars were rated as 'MARGINAL' or 'POOR'. Renault is leading the way with the Clio and Modus seats rated as 'GOOD'.
Renault Clio: GOOD
Neck protection, but at a price!
For Small and Large Family cars, such as the Ford Focus or Mondeo, the situation is better. Over two thirds of these have seats rated as 'GOOD' or 'ACCEPTABLE'. For the SUVs and Executive cars the majority of seats rate as 'GOOD'. Examples are the Peugeot 4007 and the BMW 5-Series. Buyers seeking a 'GOOD' rated seat for whiplash protection now have a wider choice than ever. But they are forced to spend more in order to achieve protection from a minor crash.
BMW 5 Series: GOOD
2008 Model Year
Thatcham has been testing seats since 2001 for their ability to protect the occupant from whiplash injuries. The 2008 Model Year testing again confirms manufacturers from around the globe are listening to Thatcham and introducing new seat designs that can protect their occupants from whiplash injuries. Now over one third of all new seats are rated as 'GOOD'. Only 16% are rated as 'POOR' and these are mostly older designs due for replacement.
Most improved seat
For the last three years of Thatcham testing, BMW seats have never achieved a 'GOOD' rating. In Model Year 2008, BMW have finally achieved a 'GOOD' rating for the new 5-Series, X3 and X5 seats demonstrating that they have finally begun to accept the importance of whiplash protection. BMW now join Mercedes and Audi in offering their drivers protection from whiplash injury.
5-Series seat with Pro-Active Head Restraint achieves a GOOD rating
