Two thirds have head restraint in 'wrong position'

The Motor Insurance Repair Research Centre - more commonly known as Thatcham - said a total of 250,000 drivers received so-called 'whiplash' injuries each year, with 25,000 suffering some form of permanent disability.

It claimed that 125,000 car occupants were hurt simply because of incorrectly-positioned headrests. This was a particular problem among male drivers, with only 25% having their head-rest positioned properly.

Thatcham said the results were especially disappointing given the fact that the majority of car seats now offered good passenger protection in the event of a rear-end impact.

'Use it properly'

Thatcham's crash lab manager, Matthew Avery, said: "The manufacturers are doing their bit - now the public have got to wake up to whiplash. The head restraint should be seen as every bit as important as the seat belt - yet people seem oblivious as to how to use it properly.''

He added: "These figures are shocking. If people are made aware of the risks they are running they would take a few seconds to adjust their restraint whenever they get in to a vehicle.

"More than 125,000 whiplash injuries could be prevented in this country each year if people took a little time out to save their necks."

According to road safety experts the top of the head restraint should be level with the top of the driver's/passenger's head, or at least no lower than eye level. Also, the restraint should be as close as possible to the back of the head when sitting comfortably in the seat of the car.

Research by the Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) has shown that almost 70% of people slightly injured in road accidents have suffered from whiplash, sometimes in conjunction with other injuries. Sufferers spend an average of 39 days off work and at least 8% of people have not fully recovered at least up to four years after the accident took place.

Car test results

An examination of 2007 model year vehicles by Thatcham showed that car manufacturers were beginning to take whiplash injuries more seriously by re-designing seats to improve occupant safety. As many as 80% of new European derived seats achieved a 'good' or 'acceptable' score in the tests.

According to Thatcham Saab and Volvo "continue to lead the way" in whiplash safety with 'good' rated seats in each and every new model on sale.

Other manufacturers such as Ford and Renault were now joining them and introducing new seats with effective anti-whiplash technology. Also, Audi had introduced an innovative anti-whiplash seat that scored highly in the Thatcham tests, despite having no "costly to repair" anti-whiplash mechanism.

However, some manufacturers were still attempting top cut costs producing seats that offered 'poor' protection. Thatcham added that surprisingly, some of the poor seats were fitted to "premium brands" of car.

The 2007 model year whiplash ratings can now be viewed on the Thatcham website - see link above/right.