City cars provide less protection against whiplash
Smaller city cars provide less protection against the damaging effects of
whiplash. Recently published safety ratings show that no small city cars achieved a ‘good’ rating and only two received an ‘acceptable’ rating in the Thatcham tests.
These results are worrying, as the majority of city car driving is in large built up areas where the likelihood of being involved in an accident resulting in whiplash injuries is higher. Smaller, lighter cars are more susceptible to damage and do not have large crumple zones to absorb heavy impact and protect the driver and passengers.
Therefore it is more likely that in a font on or rear –ended crash occupants of city cars will sustain a
whiplash injury. Experts recommend that better seat and headrest design could go some way to protect from whiplash injuries, but at the moment the city cars are not quite there.
Updated on 15/05/2008