The Safest Place in a Car Crash Isn’t the Back Seat Anymore

Why not somethings more than rubbery bumpers on the exterior: Collapsible plastics? Other materials would seemingly be effective, but esthetics would be diminished. Recall taxicab water bumper? Let's acknowledge cushioning other places on vehicles might be effective, but the idea is rejected because of weight and ugliness overall I have a Nissan Frontier 2005 and wanted increased protection, but have found nothing available in parts stores or after market If I owned an insurance company, it is what I'd do a discount for! In other words, let us not be more at risk if there are obvious practical solutions. I won't vote for my 1960s hero, Ralph Nader, because imho his hundred thousand votes hurt another good guy, Al Gore, in Florida and New Hampshire perhaps, but in the 1960 I had seat belts installed in my first car, a blue 1954 Ford probably because of Nader urging.

Do all front belts loosen when they need to? I've had belts "pin" me for various reasons -- from legitimate accident prevention to just leaning forward when trying to see around an obstacle. Always thought it could be a safety issue when you're pinned and need to move your body in order to drive the car to avoid an accident. Had that problem just last week: hit brakes to avoid an out-of-control driver who swerved into my lane. Then, in the mirror I spot a car barreling up behind me, apparently not realizing I was stopped (or nearly so), and looking about to rear end me. Wanted to get outta there, but the seatbelt had me pinned to the seat so solidly I couldn't drive. (I'm small, but not miniature...) If memory serves, I leaned and tugged, but it wouldn't budge. So, adrenaline pumping, I quickly twisted my right arm out of the seatbelt, and nearly out of its socket, in order to get out of that car's way! (I exaggerate, but I certainly pulled muscles, and given my existing shoulder issues, at first was I unsure if the injury was worse. So it was no joke.) This is the first I've heard that seatbelts are supposed to release before they injure you. More info on how that works? Leaning in doesn't seem to do it. Do you have to be a certain size to convince it "the occupant is pressing against the belt so hard that the belt itself might cause an injury?" (I know you're supposed to give it a tug, but that always seems to not always work.)

It would be helpful if the article, in addition to listing current models, included a link to a list of recent models that incorporate the improved seat belts. I'm sure it would instill some peace of mind in those who have already purchased vehicles equipped with the newer technology. Since the 2019 version of my car model was listed, I checked in my owner's manual and my 2018 vehicle does have pretensioners on the outboard rear seats.

This reminds me of a vacation that I once took that started in Montreal and cruised the St. Lawrence Seaway. I flew into Montreal and took a cab to my hotel. Sitting in the back seat of the cab waiting the the traffic light to change, I heard a tapping on the window. It was a policeman. When I lowered the window, he scolded me for not wearing my seat belt while seated in the back seat of the cab. Who knew? He surmised that I was a dumb American tourist and let me off with a scolding. The irony is that I am a retired Automotive Engineer who worked many years in automotive safety. I knew better. I should have had my seat belt on. My bad.

I have two elderly clients who were critically injured (one with a broken neck) the other with broken ribs and collar bone and a ruptured diaphragm when the car they were riding in, was hit head on by a drunk driver. They were sitting in the BACK seat and were more severely injured than the front seat passengers. I suspect the seat belts did most of the damage to them and this article is doing a good job bring attention to the issue of rear belts, a risk I assumed was less onerous than sitting in the front. Another lesson is that instead of taking his late model Lexus with state of the art safety devices, they chose to ride with their friends in a 14 year old mid size compact. Perhaps a lesson is to look at the car you're riding in and assess whether there might be a safer option. Watching them struggle to recover from this life changing event and regain their mobility and freedom from pain, this article is particularly relevant and timely.

Growing up in the pre mandatory seat belt days and in the face of a potential collision, our mother used to give the good old fashioned “stiff arm” to any of us kids sitting in the front passenger seat. Indeed, not a very high tech solution, but alas, all 5 of us reached full adulthood with our physical selves fully in tact. And I for one just suffer some mild post traumatic stress disorder to this day whenever I recall how her elbow felt wedged in my rib cage.

I'm confident my current 2015 and 2018 model year vehicles are safe enough.

That's why when my Saab showed its age at the same time my one kid came along, I chose one of the safest cars made. Not a sexy headturner, but it came standard with a full range of front driver and passenger airbags + rear airbags, built in child seats, and side curtain airbags. Kiddo is now an older teen and sits in the front, eyeing the driver's seat, of course, but I still have that car: Volvo.

We could just copy the strict driver’s test used in Iceland. That will keep many marginal drivers from becoming licensed.

I don’t see Subaru in that line up, which is disappointing.

Mr. Belwadi, I'm sure, has spent more time than I have pondering auto crashes. Still, I'm curious about this: “A lot of crash energy is dissipated between the front seat and back seat.” I've never heard of the passenger compartment included in a vehicle's "crush space." That's found forward of the dashboard, where the structure is meant to deform in controlled ways. The purpose of the passenger compartment is to maintain its shape, so how does it also dissipate crash forces? I've never felt that the back seat was safer. It lacks front and side air bags, as well the as seatbelt pretensioners included on all my cars since my '88 SAAB. Any ideas that the back seat is safer probably stem from the airbag scares of decades ago.

We could also try to crash less. Skills and performance levels to attain a driver's license in US states are laughably low compared to many countries, not to mention the significant percentages of unlicensed drivers. And while we have always had distracted drivers, technology, like with many other forms of bad behavior, has amplified the number and frequency of drivers engaged with some device and activity other than driving--at least until they crash.