Hoofdsteunen in personenauto's : het nut van hoofdsteunen bij aanrijdingen aan de achterzijde. Consult in opdracht van de Rijksdienst voor het Wegverkeer en de Directie Verkeersveiligheid van het Ministerie van Verkeer en Waterstaat.

Head rests are aimed at preventing injuries to the head and neck, in particular in rear end collisions. They are not mandatory in the Netherlands and there are many designs for them. The Institute for Road Safety Research SWOV has researched the efficiency of head rests in cars using accident statistics. The prevention of whiplash injury especially is studied. The long term consequences of whiplash injury are considered. It is concluded that rear end collisions are mostly less severe accidents with almost no severe injury. Head rests are useful because they decrease the frequency of neck injury in rear end collisions by 25%. Recommendations are presented for the use of head rests and for further research.