Replacing steel with plastic as the primary load-bearing component is new to front-row
head restraints. The part design eliminates manufacturing complexity.
The final survey questionnaire contained 26 questions on the following topics: fleet vehicle and organization characteristics (7 questions); vehicle safety knowledge (2 questions);
head restraint awareness knowledge (8 questions); opinion questions (3 questions); and behavioural questions on safety and
head restraint adjustment practices (6 questions).
Furthermore, only 6% of people adjust the
head restraint regularly, despite the fact they may travel in different vehicles.
According to the charity's survey many drivers thought, incorrectly, that the top of a
head restraint should be level with the neck or ears.
For wheelchair user rear-impact protection, Schneider [18] and Seeger and Caudry [19] recognized the obvious analogy with conventional motor vehicle seats more than 25 years ago and recommended a
head restraint to prevent whiplash during transit.
The protocol looks at the seat's geometry, the size and shape of the
head restraint and its proximity to the occupant, and its dynamic performance in crashes at three speeds.
"Good seat design is not something that should be inherently linked to higher value cars and this latest set of results will hopefully act as a catalyst for vehicle manufacturers to look at improving seat and
head restraints design within this important and growing sector.
AI: The design of the
head restraint is vital in the event of an accident.
Saab, General Motors, and Nissan have equipped some of their newer models with active
head restraints. As an occupant's torso sinks back into the seat during a rear-end crash, a mechanism in the seat back pushes the
head restraint up and toward the back of the head.
Statements regarding how far a vehicle was knocked forward, whether the occupant's head contacted the
head restraint, or whether the driver's hands came off the steering wheel can all be potentially useful pieces of information in quantifying the severity of a low-speed impact.
The carmaker said it also plans by fiscal 2004 to install the seats in all passenger and recreational vehicles with an ''Active
Head Restraint'' as standard equipment.