More Needs to be Done to Minimise the Effects of Whiplash

If you have ever been in a car accident that has resulted in a whiplash injury, you will understand what a painful experience it can be. The effects of whiplash which occur when the neck and head are thrown forward and back can be amongst others headaches, sickness, neck stiffness and spinal injuries.

Sometimes the effects of whiplash are not recognised immediately and take some time to develop which can result in pain at a later stage, sometime after the accident. Protection against whiplash injuries is limited and very few car manufacturers have spent considerable time investigating how best to minimise the effects of these injuries. Previous studies have shown that the position of the seating and head rests can afford some protection against whiplash but little has been done to educate people on how to make the adjustments themselves. Further to this many people do not understand what whiplash is and how devastating the effects can be.

Whilst car manufacturers should do more there are complications as not all drivers and passengers are the same size and shape and therefore finding a one size fits all solution is difficult.  Recent studies in Sweden have shown that women are more at risk of sustain a whiplash injury in their vehicle is hit from behind due to the way they typically configure their seating arrangement. The study found that women tend to move their seats so that they sit higher and closer to the steering wheel. This meant that they had a more upright back rest which left them more susceptible to neck injuries if their car was hit in the rear.

The study also found that the effects of a rear ended accident were different for the depending on the type of crash test dummy which was used in the trials. Traditionally crash test dummies have been built around the way men sit to drive which fails to address the difference in the way women sit to drive. The study recommended that female dummies by devised to help get more accurate test results. However not everyone agrees with this call. MIRA Ltd is a company which carries out international safety tests on vehicles, and say they do believe that there are crash test dummies which do represent how women seat themselves in cars and that there is legislation from the EU which covers the seating positions which must be tested .

If this is the case then maybe women are not adjusting their seating to the optimum position to prevent injuries. The most likely reason for this is that they do not know where the best seating positions are. Education for all drivers needs to be provided to ensure they understand that seating arrangements in the car can make a difference if they are hit in a crash. Whether this education comes from the car manufactures’, the government or even insurers there needs to be a clear message sent out to the driving population in order to reduce the effects of whiplash.