Car head rests

Rob Spence

Rob Spence

Senior
Jan 11, 2011
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Boston Metro North West
www.lynxaudioservices.com
So, this week my girlfriend started shopping for a new car. Her mom has a Honda Fit and she already ruled it out due to the headrest position forcing her chin to her chest.

So far only one car she was looking at was comfortable for both of us driving (one at a time though). It was a Honda too.

This seems to be a trend. In the name of protecting us from neck injuries we have to drive looking at the dash and not at the traffic ahead not to mention the neck strain.

WTF?


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Re: Car head rests

Rob Spence said:
So, this week my girlfriend started shopping for a new car. Her mom has a Honda Fit and she already ruled it out due to the headrest position forcing her chin to her chest.

So far only one car she was looking at was comfortable for both of us driving (one at a time though). It was a Honda too.

This seems to be a trend. In the name of protecting us from neck injuries we have to drive looking at the dash and not at the traffic ahead not to mention the neck strain.

WTF?


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I've had rental cars where the headrest was pushing my head forward of my back by almost 6". I ended up removing it and flipping it 180 degrees in place. Much more comfortable.

This paper has some notes on the issue, but it appears to stem from an incorrect assumption about how people sit.
 
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Re: Car head rests

Rob Timmerman said:
I've had rental cars where the headrest was pushing my head forward of my back by almost 6". I ended up removing it and flipping it 180 degrees in place. Much more comfortable.

This paper has some notes on the issue, but it appears to stem from an incorrect assumption about how people sit.
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"When adjusting the seat, make sure:
you are as far away from the driver's airbag as possible. " WTF???

I'd think that you would want a position relative to the airbag that allowed you to drive safely, not crash safely!!!!!

That's probably how people end up sitting the way they are assumed to be sitting, and in fact a lot of people are, they have the seat in a position where it is easy to get in and out, extending their arms to reach the steering wheel, and then moving their upper back away from the seat in order to operate the steering when they are actually driving.
 
Re: Car head rests

Robert Lofgren said:
In sweden it is called a neck rest and not a head rest. But you are still supposed to rest your back head on it...:roll:
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Actually, I believe the right translation of stöd (S) or støtte (N) would be "support". The term headrest implies that one is supposed to rest one's head against it, which is not the supposed function and also why people might be experiencing neck pain trying to get the head support to function as a headrest.
 
Re: Car head rests

I am trying to visualize this situation...never had a headrest touch my head unless I leaned back. I thought they were for protection in a rear end collision, not like a Lazyboy recliner.
 
Re: Car head rests

John the idea is to have it just touching when you are sitting normally that way there is less risk of whiplash injury, most head rests can be adjusted these days, one of the worst things to do is shove them right down in such a way that they will hit your neck first that will result in a serious injury in even a quite gentle rear end shunt. G
 
Re: Car head rests

To clarify, the 2014 cars we checked out had the head rest too far forward without being able to do more than raise & lower it. The result was your chin on chest if your back is against the seat back. To move the head away from the rest you needed to curve the upper back forward which left you looking down at the dash.


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Re: Car head rests

Rob Spence said:
So, this week my girlfriend started shopping for a new car. Her mom has a Honda Fit and she already ruled it out due to the headrest position forcing her chin to her chest.

So far only one car she was looking at was comfortable for both of us driving (one at a time though). It was a Honda too.

This seems to be a trend. In the name of protecting us from neck injuries we have to drive looking at the dash and not at the traffic ahead not to mention the neck strain.

WTF?

Seem to have been noticing this with airline seats lately too. Especially in that horrible row right in front of the exit rows that the seats don't recline in.
None of my cars have headrests either, but none of my cars are newer than 40 years old (-lucky if they even came with seatbelts back then!)
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Re: Car head rests

Bennett Prescott said:
What's going on with your head, Rob? I can't think of many cars where my head contacted the headrest at all in normal operation, and I prefer a pretty upright seating position.
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I am having trouble understanding this as well. Never gave it a thought. I think Rob should post some detailed scale drawings...
 
Re: Car head rests

Rob,

I noticed the new headrest position when car shopping several years ago. The car manufacturers were just introducing them at that time. Sales folks told me it was a new mandate and that the forward position was supposedly more safe for occupants involved in a crash. Perhaps so, but I found this new headrest position to be very uncomfortable, with some being much worse than others. I was told I'd get used to it. I suppose that's true to an extent, but I think the headrests in my Nissan aren't quite as offensive as some of the manufacturers.
 
Re: Car head rests

I think it's fascinating that according to the paper Rob posted the number one preferable solution to this issue is for the DOT and NHTSA to legislate the type of seats car makers can put in their cars. As if the people who actually buy cars couldn't possibly exert any pressure on car makers to redesign their seats.


Call me crazy if you want, but the reason seats are being designed this way is to perform better on crash safety tests. Who is it that administers crash safety tests?

Right, the NHTSA.


I find it amusing that their perfect recommended driving position is in no way comfortable for me to sit in. Guess I won't be buying a car made after 2011.
 
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