The risk of whiplash injuries is affected by a complex interaction of the vehicle, seat and occupant during an automobile collision. Vehicles, and particularly bumpers, determine the properties of the collision pulse and seats transfer that pulse to the occupants. Occupants then interact with the seat back and head restraint, setting up multi-axial loads in the tissues of the cervical spine. A review of the literature shows that there are many vehicle, seat and occupant factors that likely affect the potential for whiplash injuries, and that the large variability in both occupant response and individual tissue injury tolerance likely means that vehicle and seat design improvements will not prevent whiplash injury in all individuals. (Author/publisher)
Abstract