Neck Injuries from Minivan Crashes
When
it comes to seat and head restraints in minivans,
Fords are the only models to earn the top rating,
while most restraints provide inadequate protection
against neck injuries, the most common injury
in automotive accidents. This claim is made by
the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, based
on a study that focused on rear-end crashes and
is based on recent evaluations.
Seat/head
restraint combinations in the Ford Freestar and
its twin Mercury Monterey earn good overall ratings.
Those in some Dodge Grand Caravan/Chrysler Town
& Country models are rated acceptable. However,
the seat/head restraints in most current minivan
models are marginal or poor, indicating they wouldn't
provide adequate protection from whiplash injuries
for many people in rear-end collisions.
The
ratings are for seat/head restraint designs available
in 14 current minivan models. Starting points
for the ratings are measurements of head restraint
geometry - the height of a restraint and its horizontal
distance behind the back of the head of an average-size
man. Seats with good or acceptable restraint geometry
then are tested dynamically using a dummy that
measures forces on the neck. This test simulates
a collision in which a stationary vehicle is struck
in the rear at 20 mph. Seats without good or acceptable
geometry are rated poor overall because they cannot
be positioned to protect many people.
Among
the seat/head restraints that were tested dynamically,
those in the Honda Odyssey are rated marginal
overall. All seats in the Chevrolet Uplander (also
sold as Buick Terazza, Pontiac Montana SV6, and
Saturn Relay) and some in the Grand Caravan/Town
& Country and Toyota Sienna are rated poor.
All of these seat/head restraint combinations
earn overall ratings based on both geometry and
dynamic test results.
"Automakers
are improving the geometry of their head restraints,
compared with the last time we evaluated them,"
says Institute chief operating officer Adrian
Lund. "Still, in this group of minivans the
Fords are the only models with good dynamic performance
for all of their seat designs. Many of the seat/head
restraints we evaluated didn't even get to the
testing stage because of marginal or poor geometry.
These cannot begin to protect most people in rear-end
crashes."
"It's
disappointing that so many minivan seats are rated
poor for rear impact protection," Lund says.
"Drivers of minivans spend a lot of time
on urban and suburban roads where rear-end collisions
are common in stop-and-go traffic. Moms often
are behind the wheel, and women are more vulnerable
to whiplash injuries so they especially need good
seats and head restraints."
Neck injuries are the most common kind reported
in automobile crashes and are most likely to occur
in rear impacts. Whiplash is the most serious
injury reported in about 2 million insurance claims
each year, which cost at least $8.5 billion. Such
injuries aren't life threatening, but they can
be painful and debilitating.
"The
key to reducing neck injury risk is to keep the
head and torso moving together," Lund explains.
A head restraint should extend at least as high
as the top of the ears of the tallest expected
occupant. A restraint also should be positioned
close to the back of an occupant's head so it
can contact the head and support it early in a
rear-end crash. |