special edition 10/no.1 5 over o whiplash 2010 … · whiplash is the most common injury in car...

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SPECIAL EDITION 10/NO.1

INSIDE: 2010 Whiplash Update P4 / Pro-Active Head Restraints P10 / Seat Ratings P14

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Whiplash 2010 Update: New seat designs are improving.

Whiplash is the most common injury in car crashes, and the debilitating and painful symptoms associated with neck strain are a costly burden on the insurance industry, and the general public. There are now over 400,000 whiplash injury claims annually. Although the majority of injuries are only minor, in a minority of cases the injury can lead to long term pain over many months. Around 1% of injured occupants suffer permanent impairment leading to a lifetime of misery.

Whiplash is thought to occur during the rapid differential movement of the body relative to the head, when the seat moves forward in a rear-end crash and the head doesn’t, because the head is not supported by the head restraint. Finally, during the impact phase, the head catches up with the body, but in the meantime, the neck has been forced into an ‘S’ shape. This is where many researchers believe that the whiplash injury occurs.

Although researchers still do not fully understand the mechanisms of whiplash injury, many agree that the risk of injury can be reduced through good seat design. The key to effective whiplash injury prevention is the car’s seat, and in particular, the size and placement of the head restraint and its ability to lock. Thatcham’s testing aims to limit the differential movement by encouraging the manufacturers to design seats which keep the head and body moving together. Only a head restraint that is very close to the head can do this.

WHIPLASH INJURY

Whiplash is the most common injury in car crashes.

Normal Retraction Extension Hyperextension (‘S’ Shape)

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Whiplash is thought to occur as the neck is forced into an ‘S’ shape during the compression phase of a rear-end impact.

AUTHORS: MATTHEW AVERY, Research Manager and Dr. ALIX WEEKES, Lead Research Engineer, Thatcham

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Whiplash injury

WHIPLASH: 2010 UPDATE

Seats Improving Year on YearThatcham publishes ratings for the Model Year – this combines ratings from previous years’ testing with new seats tested in that Model Year. Thatcham’s last release of results for 2008 Model Year had only 35% of seats rated as ‘Good’. The results of the 2010 Model Year seat testing at Thatcham reveal an improvement in the number of seats rated as ‘Good’. We now see that 51% of seats are rated as ‘Good’ for offering protection against debilitating whiplash injuries. Manufacturers are continuing to take the prevention of whiplash injuries seriously.

Thatcham has been testing seats for their ability to protect the occupant from whiplash injuries since 2004. The 2010 Model Year testing again confirms that manufacturers from around the world are listening to Thatcham and introducing new seat designs that can protect their occupants from whiplash injuries. Only 9% of the seats are rated ‘Poor’, which shows a great improvement since the first round of testing of 2005 Model Year seats. This small group of ‘Poor’ rated seats are mostly older designs that are due for replacement, so Thatcham hopes to see the improvement continue next year.

brand new seats ’ ‘

Whiplash: 2010 Update The results for the 2010 Model Year cover the cars that are on sale in 2010 (not just the new cars launched). These 2010 Model Year results are compiled from ratings for new seats tested, in addition to the ratings from previous years’ testing that are carried over. The manufacturers do not change their seat designs every year (only when new model updates or facelifts occur), in which case we are able to carry over the result from a previous year to the current year,

if the car is still on sale. Ratings for cars that have ceased production are removed.

So from the new seats tested for the 2010 Model Year update, 68% were rated ‘Good’. This increase in ‘Good’ rated seats for new models has an effect on the whole fleet when they are combined with the carried over results. This reflects an overall improvement with over 50% of seats rated as ‘Good’ for 2010 Model Year vehicles.

68%GOOD

New test ratings for 2010 Model Year - 68% Good.Comparison of seat testing results: 2005 compared to 2010 model year.

Good

Acceptable

Marginal

Poor

Ratings carried over from previous years

New testratings2010 MY

New testratings2010 MY

2010 Model Year (MY)

2010 New seat tests only

Good

Acceptable

Marginal

Poor

2005Model Year (MY)

2010Model Year (MY)

36%

16%

24%

24%

20%51%

9%

20%

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International Perspective

WHIPLASH: INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVE

International collaboration between test centres helps to increase the pressure on vehicle manufacturers to improve seat and head restraint designs.

Whiplash:

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) in the USA is also involved with the International Insurance Whiplash Prevention Group (IIWPG) seat testing, and the results from Thatcham and IIHS are shared amongst the members of RCAR – the Research Council for Automobile Repairs. Members collaborate to publish these IIWPG seat ratings for their national markets, and all of this helps to encourage the manufacturers to offer better protection against whiplash injuries.

For IIHS, the percentage of seats rated as ‘Good’ has increased from 12% for the 2005 Model Year seats to 52% for the 2009 Model Year seats. Comparison of ratings from Thatcham and IIHS shows that European and North American markets are both improving. Similarly Thatcham’s ‘Good’ rated seats have increased from 16% in 2005 model year, to 51% for 2010 Model Year. Both the European seats tested by Thatcham, and the US seats tested by IIHS now show that half the seats are rated as ‘Good’, which is a great improvement over the last few years.

IIHS are an international partner in whiplash testing.

Percentage of ‘Good’ rated seats: Comparison for European and US markets.

Europ

ean

markets

US

markets

0%

40%

80%

20%

60%

100%

Mercedes Benz Pro-Active Head Restraint during deployment.

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Deployed.

Undeployed.

BMW - ALL GOOD

Volvo and Saab have traditionally been the benchmark seats, and they still continue to lead the way in protecting occupants against whiplash injury. The ‘All Good’ manufacturers have seats rated as ‘Good’ in each and every new model on sale. BMW this year have joined Volvo, Saab and Audi as the latest ‘All Good’ manufacturer with their Pro-Active Head Restraint design.

There are a few other manufacturers that are close to achieving the status of ‘All Good’. Mercedes, Honda and Alfa Romeo have all seats rated so far achieving a ‘Good’ rating, but Thatcham still awaits some seats for testing. As soon as these manufacturers supply the remaining seats for testing, they could complete their line up of ‘Good’ rated seats, and so join the group of ‘All Good’ manufacturers.

BMW all good: BMW New 3 Series Coupe

BMW all good: BMW New 7 Series BMW all good: BMW New 5 Series Gran Turismo

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BMW Z4.

The Pro-Active Head Restraint deploys up and forward when a crash is detected. An example is the NECK-PRO system from Mercedes.

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Pro-Active Head RestraintsAlthough many seats are now rated as ‘Good’ the manufacturers are using a wide variety of designs, and these work in different ways. Many drivers are often ‘out of position’ in an accident – for example, they are leaning forward to see around a corner at a junction. The Pro-Active Head Restraint technologies can offer additional protection in complex, out of position situations, such as roundabouts or junctions.

Pro-Active Head Restraints (PAHR) are a recent technology used by manufacturers to help prevent whiplash injuries. Both Mercedes and BMW fit PAHR systems. These systems are designed to reduce the risk of neck injury in a rear crash by preventing the differential movement of the head and neck.

The Pro-Active Head Restraints are linked to an electronic control unit. When the crash sensors on the car

detect a rear impact of the defined severity, the control unit deploys the head restraint by activating pre-loaded springs inside it. The front of the head restraint moves up and forward to meet and support the head early in the crash phase, and thus helps to reduce the risk of injury.

The NECK-PRO system from Mercedes is fully reversible and can then be re-set by the car owner – it can be pushed back into position by hand. Thus, NECK-PRO can be triggered even at a very low impact severity and offers then the full protection potential - without any repair costs for the owner.

The advantage of the PAHR systems is that they are activated based on input from the crash sensor – they do not rely upon the weight of the occupant’s body moving into the seat for activation like a Reactive Head Restraint (RHR). PAHR systems offer their protection potential regardless of the occupant’s size and weight. The particular advantage is that if the occupant is out of position, for example leaning forward to see around a corner, the PAHR will still activate and offer some protection to the occupant. This must be a benefit of these systems since the PAHR systems deploy regardless of the occupant’s posture.

Pro-Active Head Restraints can help to protect against whiplash injuries even if the driver is out of position.

PRO-ACTIVE HEAD RESTRAINTS

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Pro-Active Head Restraints

IIWPG Test procedure with a Volvo seat.

The whiplash test used by Thatcham was developed with our international insurance research partners (The International Insurance Whiplash Prevention Group - IIWPG) and is now used and respected throughout the world.

The test recreates a typical 10mph crash on a special test machine – the sort of shunt where whiplash injuries commonly occur and features the unique BioRID whiplash dummy, especially created to emulate the movement of a human during a rear crash.

The test assesses the forces endured by the car’s occupants during the crash and measures the time until the head and neck are supported. The best seats have large head restraints that can support the occupant’s head and neck very early and can mitigate the force of the crash – helping to prevent injury.

Many of the best performing seats have anti-whiplash devices that can absorb the forces of the crash or move the head restraint automatically during the crash to support the head early to help prevent injury.

Whiplash test

WHIPLASH TEST

The test measures the size of the head restraint and how close it would be to a typical driver. It also rates the dynamic performance of the seat during the crash test and combines these two assessments into one final, overall rating.

Overall rating

Good: A seat that offers good protection for most sizes of occupant – may be fitted with specific anti- whiplash protection.

Acceptable: A seat that offers reasonable protection for small to average sized drivers.

Marginal :A seat that offers some protection for small to average occupants.

Poor :A seat that offers little protection from whiplash-type injuries.

Run out:Indicates a model that is near the end of production. A newer model might also be on sale at the same time.

ProtectionReactive Head Restraint: A head restraint that automatically moves up and forward during the crash, actuated by the weight of the occupant in the seat. (Example: Saab SAHR)

Pro-Active Head Restraint: A head restraint that automatically moves up and forward at the start of the crash, actuated by crash sensors on the bumper or within the car. (Example: Mercedes-Benz NECK-PRO)

Reactive Seat: An entire seat and head restraint that absorbs the energy of a rear end crash. (Example: Volvo WHIPS)

Passive Seat: A seat that uses passive foam technology to absorb the energy of the crash and allows the occupant to engage the head restraint without neck distortion. (Example: Audi Backguard)

No caption: A traditional fixed or adjustable head restraint that has no specific anti-whiplash technology.

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Good

Acceptable

Marginal

Poor

Make Model Anti-Whiplash System Overall Rating

Audi

Audi Q5 Passive Seat Good

Audi Q7 Passive Seat Good

Audi Q7 Comfort Passive Seat Good

BMW

BMW Z4 Good

BMW 1-Series Good

BMW 1-Series Coupe Good

BMW 1-Series Convertible Good

BMW 3-Series Pro-Active Head Restraint Good

BMW 3-Series Coupe Pro-Active Head Restraint Good

BMW 3-Series Convertible Pro-Active Head Restraint Good

BMW 5-Series (run out) Pro-Active Head Restraint Good

BMW 5-Series Comfort (run out) Pro-Active Head Restraint Good

BMW 5-GT Pro-Active Head Restraint Good

BMW 5-GT Comfort Pro-Active Head Restraint Good

BMW 6-Series Coupe Pro-Active Head Restraint Good

BMW 6-Series Convertible Pro-Active Head Restraint Good

BMW 7-Series Pro-Active Head Restraint Good

BMW 7-Series Comfort Pro-Active Head Restraint Good

BMW X1 Good

BMW X3 Pro-Active Head Restraint Good

BMW X3 Comfort Pro-Active Head Restraint Good





Cadillac

Cadillac BLS Reactive Head Restraint Good

Chevrolet

Chevrolet Matiz Marginal

Chevrolet Lacetti Marginal

Chevrolet Captiva Awaiting Supply

Chrysler

Chrysler 300 C Acceptable

Chrysler Grand Voyager Marginal

Citroen

Citroen C1 Marginal

Citroen C2 Poor

Citroen C3 Acceptable

Citroen C3 Picasso Marginal

Citroen C4 Acceptable

Citroen C4 VTR Poor

Citroen C4 Picasso Marginal

Citroen C4 Grand Picasso Marginal

Citroen Nemo Multispace Awaiting Supply

Citroen Berlingo Multispace Passive Seat Marginal

Citroen Xsara Picasso Acceptable

Citroen C5 Passive Seat Marginal

Citroen C6 Reactive Head Restraint Acceptable

Citroen C-Crosser Good

Dacia

Dacia Sandero Passive Seat Acceptable


Alfa Romeo

Alfa Romeo 159 Reactive Head Restraint Good

Alfa Romeo Brera Reactive Head Restraint Good

Alfa Romeo MiTo Reactive Head Restraint Good

Alfa Romeo GT Awaiting Supply

Alfa Romeo Spider Reactive Head Restraint Good

Audi

Audi A3 Passive Seat Good

Audi S3 Passive Seat Good


Audi A4 Sport Passive Seat Good



Audi A5 Convertible Passive Seat Good




Audi TT Coupe Passive Seat Good

Audi TT Roadster Passive Seat Good

Audi R8 Passive Seat Good

SEAT RATINGS - THE RESULTS

These ratings only allow the comparative assessment of a seat’s ability to protect its occupant from whiplash injury in a typical rear-end crash. They cannot be used to predict with certainty whether whiplash injury would (or would not) occur, since the scientific and research community still does not know enough about the mechanisms of whiplash injury to state this confidently.

It is important to remember that all occupants must adjust their head restraint correctly whether they have a ‘Poor’ or ‘Good’ rated seat. No head restraint can offer full protec-tion if it is incorrectly adjust-ed. The ideal adjustment is as high as the top of the head, and as close to the back of the head as possible.

NOTE: Seat ratings indicated with are supplied in association with Euro NCAP, of which Thatcham is a member.

Ratings...Seat

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Further information: Visit www.thatcham.org/ncwr for the latest seat ratings.

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Daihatsu

Daihatsu Cuore Passive Seat Acceptable

Daihatsu Materia Passive Seat Acceptable

Daihatsu Sirion Acceptable

Daihatsu Terios Good

Dodge

Dodge Caliber Marginal

Dodge Nitro Poor

Dodge Avenger Acceptable

Fiat

Fiat 500 Marginal

Fiat Panda Poor

Fiat Grande Punto Marginal

Fiat Bravo Reactive Head Restraint Acceptable

Fiat Sedici Marginal

Fiat Doblo (run out) Poor

Fiat Qubo Awaiting Supply

Fiat Florino Combi Awaiting Supply

Fiat Multipla Poor

Ford

Ford Ka Passive Seat Acceptable

Ford Fiesta Passive Seat Good

Ford Fusion Marginal

Ford Focus Good

Ford Kuga Passive Seat Marginal

Ford C-Max Good

Ford Mondeo Reactive Head Restraint Good

Ford S-Max Reactive Head Restraint Good

Ford Galaxy Reactive Head Restraint Good

Honda

Honda Jazz Good

Honda Civic Reactive Head Restraint Good

Honda Civic Type R Awaiting Supply

Honda Insight Reactive Head Restraint Good

Honda Accord Reactive Head Restraint Good

Honda CR-V Reactive Head Restraint Good

Honda FR-V Awaiting Supply

Hyundai

Hyundai i10 Passive Seat Acceptable

Hyundai i20 Reactive Head Restraint Good

Hyundai i30 Reactive Head Restraint Good

Hyundai Sonata Reactive Head Restraint Good

Hyundai Tucson Marginal

Hyundai Santa Fe Reactive Head Restraint Good

Jaguar

Jaguar X-Type Poor

Jaguar X-Type Sport Poor

Jaguar XF Reactive Head Restraint Good

Jaguar XJ (run out) Reactive Seat Marginal

Jaguar XK Reactive Head Restraint Good

Jeep

Jeep Cherokee Poor

Jeep Compass Acceptable

Jeep Patriot Acceptable

Jeep Wrangler Marginal

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Kia

Kia Picanto Marginal

Kia Rio Poor

Kia Cee'd Reactive Head Restraint Good

Kia Sedona Reactive Head Restraint Good

Kia Sorento Reactive Head Restraint Good

Kia Soul Reactive Head Restraint Good

Kia Sportage (run out) Poor

Lancia

Lancia Delta Reactive Head Restraint Good

Land Rover

Land Rover Freelander II Acceptable

Land Rover Defender Marginal

Land Rover Discovery III (run out) Acceptable

Land Rover Range Rover Sport (run out) Acceptable

Land Rover Range Rover Reactive Head Restraint Good

Lexus

Lexus IS Passive Seat Marginal

Lexus GS Passive Seat Poor

Lexus LS Marginal

Lexus RX Passive Seat Marginal

Mazda

Mazda 2 Marginal

Mazda 5 Marginal

Mazda 6 Passive Seat Marginal

Mazda CX-7 Marginal

Mazda MX-5 Marginal

Mercedes

Mercedes A-Class Reactive Head Restraint Good

Mercedes B-Class Reactive Head Restraint Good

Mercedes C-Class Pro-Active Head Restraint Good

Mercedes E-Class Pro-Active Head Restraint Good

Mercedes SLK Awaiting Supply

Mercedes R-Class Pro-Active Head Restraint Good

Mercedes M-Class Pro-Active Head Restraint Good

Mercedes GL-Class Pro-Active Head Restraint Good

Mercedes GLK Pro-Active Head Restraint Good

MINI

MINI Mini Acceptable

MINI Clubman Acceptable

MINI Convertible Acceptable

Mitsubishi

Mitsubishi Colt Poor

Mitsubishi Lancer Good

Mitsubishi Outlander Good

Mitsubishi Shogun Poor

Nissan

Nissan Micra Acceptable

Nissan Micra CC Acceptable

Nissan Pixo Marginal

Nissan Note Reactive Head Restraint Marginal

Nissan Qashqai Reactive Head Restraint Good

Nissan X-Trail Reactive Head Restraint Acceptable

Nissan Murano Reactive Head Restraint Good

Nissan Pathfinder Reactive Head Restraint Marginal

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Peugeot

Peugeot 107 Marginal

Peugeot 207 Marginal

Peugeot 308 Awaiting Supply

Peugeot 308cc Passive Seat Poor

Peugeot 3008 Good

Peugeot 407 Acceptable

Peugeot 4007 Good

Peugeot Bipper Tepee Awaiting Supply

Peugeot Partner Tepee Good

Proton

Proton Gen 2 Poor

Renault

Renault Twingo 2 Acceptable

Renault Clio Good

Renault Modus Good

Renault Kangoo 2 Passive Seat Good

Renault Megane 3 Passive Seat Acceptable

Renault Megane CC (run out) Acceptable

Renault Megane Coupe Passive Seat Acceptable

Renault Laguna 3 Acceptable

Renault Koleos Passive Seat Good

Renault Scenic 3 Good

Renault Grand Scenic 3 Good

Renault Espace Acceptable

Saab

Saab 9-3 Reactive Head Restraint Good

Saab 9-5 Reactive Head Restraint Good

SEAT

SEAT Ibiza Passive Seat Marginal

SEAT Leon Reactive Head Restraint Acceptable

SEAT Leon Sport Reactive Head Restraint Acceptable

SEAT Leon Acceptable

SEAT Leon Sport Acceptable

SEAT Altea Reactive Head Restraint Good

SEAT Altea Marginal

SEAT Exeo Awaiting Supply

Skoda

Skoda Fabia Acceptable

Skoda Yeti Good

Skoda Roomster Acceptable

Skoda Superb Passive Seat Marginal

Smart

Smart Fortwo Acceptable

Subaru

Subaru Justy Passive Seat Acceptable

Subaru Impreza Reactive Head Restraint Good

Subaru Legacy Reactive Head Restraint Good

Subaru Outback Reactive Head Restraint Good

Subaru Forester Reactive Head Restraint Good

Subaru Tribeca Reactive Head Restraint Good

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Suzuki

Suzuki Splash Passive Seat Poor

Suzuki Alto Marginal

Suzuki Swift Acceptable

Suzuki SX4 Marginal

Suzuki Grand Vitara Marginal

Toyota

Toyota IQ Passive Seat Good

Toyota Aygo Marginal

Toyota Yaris Passive Seat Marginal

Toyota Urban Cruiser Reactive Head Restraint Good

Toyota Auris Passive Seat Good

Toyota Verso Passive Seat Poor

Toyota Avensis 3 Reactive Head Restraint Good

Toyota Prius 3 Reactive Head Restraint Good

Toyota RAV4 Marginal

Vauxhall/Opel

Vauxhall/Opel Agila Passive Seat Poor

Vauxhall/Opel Corsa Passive Seat Acceptable

Vauxhall/Opel Astra (run out) Marginal

Vauxhall/Opel Insignia Reactive Head Restraint Good

Vauxhall/Opel Tigra Reactive Head Restraint Good

Vauxhall/Opel Meriva Reactive Head Restraint Acceptable

Vauxhall/Opel Meriva Poor

Vauxhall/Opel Zafira Marginal

Vauxhall/Opel Antara Awaiting Supply

Volkswagen

Volkswagen Fox Marginal

Volkswagen Polo Passive Seat Acceptable

Volkswagen Golf Passive Seat Good

Volkswagen Golf GTD Passive Seat Good

Volkswagen Golf GTI Passive Seat Good

Volkswagen Golf Plus Reactive Head Restraint Acceptable

Volkswagen Scirocco Passive Seat Good

Volkswagen Eos Marginal

Volkswagen Beetle Reactive Head Restraint Acceptable

Volkswagen Jetta Reactive Head Restraint Acceptable

Volkswagen Jetta Marginal

Volkswagen Passat Passive Seat Good

Volkswagen Passat Coupe Passive Seat Good

Volkswagen Touran Reactive Head Restraint Acceptable

Volkswagen Touran Awaiting Supply

Volkswagen Sharan Poor

Volkswagen Touareg Marginal

Volkswagen Tiguan Good

Volvo

Volvo C30 Reactive Seat Good

Volvo C70 Reactive Seat Good

Volvo S40 Reactive Seat Good

Volvo V50 Reactive Seat Good

Volvo V70 Reactive Seat Good

Volvo S80 Reactive Seat Good

Volvo XC60 Reactive Seat Good



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THATCHAM IS A NOT-FOR-PROFIT ORGANISATION

OUR VISION IS THAT GLOBALLY, VEHICLES ARE REPAIRED SAFELY, CRASH INJURIES ARE MINIMISED AND VEHICLE THEFT IS ERADICATED.

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Thatcham Colthrop Way, Thatcham Berkshire RG19 4NR

Tel: +44 (0) 1635 868855Fax: +44 (0) 1635 871346 Web: www.thatcham.org

Further information: Visit www.thatcham.org/ncwr for the latest seat ratings.

www.thatcham.org/ncwr

special edition 10/no.1 5 over o whiplash 2010 … · whiplash is the most common injury in car...

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