CTAG has developed a methodology for designing rear seats with safety improvements to prevent whiplash in rear seats.
A very common type of accident, especially on urban roads, is the low speed rear impact, which causes frequent cervical injuries to the occupants of the vehicle crashed into.
This effect is known as “whiplash” and it leads to high medical costs related to recovery and long term sick leaves. In recent years tests for the safety assessment of this injury have been introduced in organisms such as Euro NCAP, IIHS, etc. but none for assessing whiplash injuries in rear seats. The occupants of these seats are subject to the same acceleration in a rear impact crash and therefore to the same potential injuries. This research shows a methodology for designing rear seats with safety improvements to prevent whiplash in rear seats, using virtual simulation tools and specific tests following the methodology of CTAG-IDIADA.
