The Influence of Seat-Back and Head-Restraint Properties on the Head-Neck Motion During Rear-Impact

Paper in proceeding, 1993

One type of production-car front-seat with a head-restraint was tested in simulated low-velocity rear-impacts using a Hybrid III-dummy fitted with a modified neck (RID-neck). The seat was modified in various ways to test the influence of different seat properties on the head-neck motion during the impact. The results show that it is possible to influence the head-neck kinematics to a great extent by modifying the properties of the seat-back and the head-restraint. It was possible to virtually eliminate the neck extension motion during the rear-impact and this will hopefully result in a significant decrease of the neck injury risk in real world rearimpacts.