Saving Your Neck

According to the Association of British Insurers, an estimated £2 billion is lost from the economy each year due to whiplash injuries sustained in car accidents, and the figure could be so much lower if drivers positioned their head restraints correctly.

As part of its Think Before Your Drive campaign, the RAC Foundation has established that around 55% of us do not do this, and therefore put ourselves at unnecessary risk.

So the Foundation, in conjunction with the FIA Foundation and tyre company Bridgestone, has put together a Think Before You Drive leaflet which explains the various ways in which head restraints can be positioned more effectively. The basic advice is that the top of the headrest should be level with the top of the driver's head, and certainly no lower than his or her eye level. Its usual position seems to be at its lowest setting, where it doesn't do much good - and can actually cause greater harm to taller drivers in the event of an impact.

The Foundation is also calling for the more widespread introduction of active head restraints, which automatically move forward to reduce the gap to the driver's head in the event of a collision; better headrest design and advice to owners about positioning on the part of the manufacturers; adjustable head restraints to be a legal requirement on all cars; public information campaigns on the subject; and a higher minimum legal requirement for restrain design.

"Many whiplash injuries should easily be avoided if motorists took a few seconds to check that their head restraints are in the right position," says the RAC Foundation's Executive Director Edmund King. "This £2 billion pain in the neck could be a thing of the past if motorists were given clearer advice on the correct position of head restraints and followed it."

"Whiplash injuries are painful, costly and preventable," adds David Ward, Director General of the FIA Foundation. "Just thinking for a second and adjusting your head restraint to the right position can make all the difference. But car makers have a role to play too in ensuring that all head restraints meet the standard set by the best."

source: ITV Motoring (Last Updated: Tuesday, 19th July, 2005)

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