Head Restraints & Whiplash
Return to Cars In The FutureWhiplash describes the motion by which a neck injury can be caused, the quick movement of the head relative to the shoulders puts the neck under strain that it would not usually encounter. Although the mechanism by which injury occurs is known, the exact nature of the injury is not.
Injuries caused by whiplash (hereafter collectively referred to as Whiplash Associated Disorders – or WADs) is only coded a ‘slight’ injury in STATS 19 due to the relatively small amount of damage to the neck which is physically caused, this does not fully describe the impact that it can have on someone’s quality of life.
The insurance industry state that over 80% of personal injury claims arising from motor vehicle accidents are WADs, and report that this totals around 250000 injuries per year. The vast majority of these injuries are not long term and do not result in an undue period of suffering, however, some cases have also been know to last permanently.
The majority of WADs occur when a vehicle has been struck from the rear, and this means that head restraints can be used as a counter measure in order to reduce both the likelihood and severity of an injury. A well-adjusted and well-designed head restraint can limit the movement of the neck and support the head for a longer period in an accident.
There is consumer information about how to adjust a head restraint, and how to find a well designed head restraint on the RoSPA website.
http://www.rospa.com/roadsafety/advice/motorvehicles/adjust_head_restraint.htm
http://www.rospa.com/roadsafety/advice/motorvehicles/safer_head_restraints.htm
Thatcham have been conducting tests on vehicle seats in the UK to see how well they are designed to prevent WADs, and claims evidence has shown that several types of seat design and an improvement in head restraints will reduce the risk of whiplash.
Once an appropriate injury criterion and dummy are decided on then it is imperative that minimum standards of seat performance to reduce WAD should be set in European Directives or Regulations. Ideally, the tests will occur at a range of speed to prevent designs which are only optimised for the test speed, and also mitigate chance that changes to seat backs to prevent WAD will create an injury risk to another section of the spine.
Although WAD occurs in rear impacts, they also are caused by impacts from other angles and these are also issues that need to be addressed in future.
Resources may help those who have suffered a WAD and prevent the longevity of such injuries. A good example is The Whiplash Book, which is published by The Stationary Office.
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RoSPA is a registered charity: Registered Charity No: 207823 Patron: Her Majesty the Queen RoSPA Head Office: Edgbaston Park, 353 Bristol Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham B5 7ST, UK |
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