Cars lag on whiplash test

Despite all the advances in auto safety, a new study found that many of today's cars still don't offer enough protection against the granddaddy of all wreck injuries: Whiplash:

Seat and head restraints in more than 60 percent of car models fall short of state-of-the-art protection for neck injuries and whiplash, a new study has found. Only 22 of 75 cars tests rated good for rear crash protection in collisions, according to a new test of car seats by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), an industry group. The institute says that neck injuries are the most common injuries reported in automobile crashes, estimating that they account for 2 million insurance claims each year, costing at least $8.5 billion.

Cars that did well in the test, according to CNN/Money: Volvos, the Audi A4, S4 and A6; the Ford Five Hundred and Mercury Montego; Nissan Sentra and Versa; Saab 9-3; and Subaru Impreza and Legacy/Outback.

WHat do you think? Would you pay more for a car with better neck protection? Hit the COMMENT button and speak out!

Comments

[Tom A.]

How much are you willing to bet the insurance industry and law firms specializing in auto accident-related injury would love to see those figures stay right where they are? Follow the money, people.

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[John Plunkett]

I willingly paid the extra cost to purchase a Volvo XC-90 three years ago, and we are purchasing another Volvo this summer to replace a six year old domestic product. It's worth noting that the Ford Five Hundred, and its Mercury derivative, are based on the Volvo P-2 platform. The incremental cost for these safety features is trivial compared to the cost for medical remediation of injuries sustained in these mostly "preventable" accidents.

[Mark E. Capron]

I would pay more (about $200/car) more for the ultimate whiplash protection, an invisible force field! Car manufactuerers are perfecting the force field slowly. We could speed them up with a Challenge as at GuardianAngelCars.org.