A Third of Vehicle Head Restraints Are Poorly Designed, Group Says

DETROIT — The head restraints in about a third of all 1999 passenger vehicles are poorly designed, putting occupants at greater risk of whiplash neck injuries in rear-end crashes, an insurance group said Thursday.

Only one in 20 1999-model vehicles earn a “good” rating for head-restraint design, according to a study released by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, a group representing large auto insurers.

But the one-third share of poor ratings in the latest study is an improvement from the 1997 study, in which more than half the vehicles’ head restraints received the lowest rating, the institute said. The group grades the restraints as “good,” “acceptable,” “marginal” or “poor.”

“Some head restraints are getting better, but not nearly enough progress has been made,” said institute Senior Vice President Adrian Lund. Vehicles rated “good” include: BMW Z3 coupe; Saab 9-3 and 9-5 cars; Volkswagen New Beetle; Volvo C70, S70, V70, S80; General Motors Sonoma compact pickup truck; Chevrolet S10; GMC Sonoma compact pickups; Chevrolet Blazer SUVs; and Mitsubishi Montero SUVs.