What is the head restraint on a vehicle?
What is the head restraint on a vehicle?
A head restraint is a pad at the top of an automobile seat. The purpose of a head restraint is to prevent whiplash injury of the neck in rear impact crashes.
What is active head restraint system?
Active Head Restraints is a system that comes into action only in a rear-end crash. This movement triggers the back rest and lever, which bring the headrest forward automatically to decrease the distance between head and headrest. This reduces risk of injury by preventing stretching of the neck vertebrae.
What is the purpose of your head restraint?
The primary function of headrests in vehicles is safety: they’re made to reduce whiplash, an unpleasant side effect of the rearward movement of the head and neck that occurs during a rear impact.
What do intelligent head restraint systems do?
This head restraint mechanism is combined with a pair of ultrasonic sensors, actuators and control algorithm to form an active head restraint system, which detects the position of an occupant’s head when seated in the car and moves the head restraint into an optimum position to reduce the chances of receiving whiplash …
Is it illegal to remove headrest from car?
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, it is not legal to remove the headrests from a vehicle. It is unlikely that police would cite an individual for this infraction, as there is generally not much attention paid to it.
Where should your head restraint be?
Whatever car you drive, you’ll get the maximum whiplash protection from a head restraint that’s properly positioned. To work well, the top of the restraint should reach at least as high as the top of your ears, and preferably the top of your head, and be relatively close—4 inches or less—to the back of your head.
What is front seat head restraint?
Front headrests have been mandatory on vehicles in the USA since the late 1960’s. They offer a comfortable place to rest your head and provide a backstop to limit head travel in the event of a rear end collision. In recent years though, headrests have become more advanced and filled with technology.
Why is head support important?
Ergonomically designed office chairs with headrests stop you from hunching forwards. Instead, your head has something to comfortably lean on, preventing your body from falling forward. Over time, your body will adjust to staying upwards, rather than hunching and putting pressure on your back.
Why are headrests removable?
The NRMA said headrests are designed to be detachable to allow for easy adjustment of the seat and to be removed for cleaning. And according to the NRMA, glass in cars is not designed to be easily broken and, depending on whether the glass is laminated or tinted, it can be increasingly difficult to do so.
What year were headrests required in cars?
1969
Optional head restraints began appearing on North American cars in the mid-1960s, and were mandated by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in all new cars sold in the U.S. after January 1, 1969.
Are head restraints a legal requirement?
Are automakers required to include rear headrests in their vehicles? Interestingly, automakers are not required by law to include rear headrests in the backseats of any vehicle. They have, however, been required to include them in the front outboard seats of all cars since 1969.
How should a head restraint be positioned?
First, head restraints, or car head rests, should be positioned high enough to support the driver or passenger’s head so as to minimize neck distortion. Second, adjust the head restraint so that it’s even with the top of your head.
What is the proper head restraint position?
To prevent whiplash injuries,car head restraints must be correctly positioned behind and close to the head.
What is a head restraint in a car?
Head restraint in a Lincoln Town Car. Head restraints (also called headrests) are an automotive safety feature, attached or integrated into the top of each seat to limit the rearward movement of the adult occupant’s head, relative to the torso, in a collision — to prevent or mitigate whiplash or injury to the cervical vertebrae.
How do head restraints protect the driver in impacts?
The IIHS has discovered that “the key to reducing injury risk in rear-end crashes is to keep the head and torso moving together.” They further add that to effectively protect occupants’ necks, a head restraint must be high enough to catch the head and close enough to catch it early in a crash.
