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Tests Show Rear Crash Protection is Spotty

Neck Injuries Most Commonly Reported Injury in Traffic Accidents

April 5, 2007

IIHS-Auto Safety • Insurance Group Adds 6 Small SUVs to Safety List • Luxury Sedan, SUV Win Insurance Industry Safety Award • Acura TSX Luxury Sedan Top Safety Pick • Nissan Murano Leads SUV Safety Test • Lexus EX35, Cadillac CTS Named Top Safety Picks • Nissan Quest Worst Performer in Minivan Bumper Test • Study: Crash Tests Predict Fatalities In Cars, Not Trucks • Top Safety Awards Go to 34 Cars, SUVs and a Pickup • Midsize SUVs Perform Poorly in Side Impacts • BMW 5 Series Performs Poorly in New Impact Test • Luxury Cars a "Mediocre Lot" in Low-Speed Collisions • Light Trucks Vulnerable to Whiplash --- • More IIHS Tests

With all the emphasis on SUV rollovers, front and side crashworthiness and new airbag designs, it's easy to overlook protecting against one of the most common mishaps -- being rear-ended.

Head restraint designs in 22 current car models are rated good for rear crash protection, but those in 53 other cars are rated marginal or poor, a new study finds.

Rear-end collisions are frequent, and neck injuries are the most common injuries reported in automobile crashes. They account for 2 million insurance claims each year, costing at least $8.5 billion. Such injuries aren't life threatening, but they can be painful and debilitating.

"We're simulating what happens when a vehicle rear-ends another one in commuter traffic or at a stop light," said IIHS president Andrew Lund. "People think of head restraints as head rests, but they're not. They're important safety features. You're more likely to need the protection of a good head restraint than the other safety devices in your vehicle because rear-end crashes are so common."

The latest evaluations of occupant protection in rear-end collisions by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found that the seat/head restraints in more than 60 percent of car models fall short of current state-of-the-art protection from neck injury or whiplash.

The ratings of good, acceptable, marginal, or poor are based on geometric measurements of head restraints and simulated crashes that together assess how well people of different sizes would be protected in a typical rear-end collision.

Among the winners are seat designs in all Volvos; Audi A4, S4 and A6; Ford Five Hundred/ Mercury Montego; Nissan Sentra and Versa; Saab 9-3; and Subaru Impreza and Legacy/Outback. Seat/head restraints in 12 other car models are rated acceptable.

These results show some improvement since the Institute began rear-impact tests of seat/head restraints in 2004. Seats in only 8 car models earned good ratings in 2004.

"Even though we have more good performers, it's disappointing that so many designs are still rated marginal or poor," said Lund. "Neck injuries are common in crashes, and it's not difficult or expensive to design more protective seat/head restraints."

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