IIHS: Most Seats Don't Prevent Whiplash

Despite the innovation of some auto seats that can mitigate whiplash injuries, most cars do not offer protection against neck injuries in accidents. That's the finding of a new study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), the industry-funded research group. The IIHS says that more than half of all car seats do not do a good job of protecting occupants from whiplash, which can cost the insurance industry upwards of $7 billion a year from the IIHS' estimates. The group studed 97 seat and headrests and tested 73 of them in a 20-mph rear impact. The best-scoring vehicles were the Volvo S40, S60 and S80, the Saab 9-2X and 9-3, and the Jaguar S-Type, all ranked "good." The IIHS ranked the Chevrolet Malibu and the Subaru Outback's seats as "acceptable," while the Ford Focus and the MINI Cooper were deemed marginal. The remaining vehicles were ranked worst, including the Audi A4 and S4, the BMW 3-Series, Dodge Neon and the Jaguar X-Type. Read more at www.hwysafety.org.

 

IIRC Saab and Volvo are the only manufacturers that employ active devices in the headrest which in effect pushes it towards your head during impact. So the results aren't surprising to me.