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Cervical spine injuries sustained in rear-end crashes cost at least $7 billion in insurance claims annually in the United States alone. When positioned correctly, head restraint systems have been proven effective in reducing the risk of whiplash associated disorders. Chiropractors should be knowledgeable about the correct use of head restraint syst...
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... Chiropractic College (NYCC) in April, 2002, a con- venient sample of the first thirty chiropractic interns driv- ing into the parking lot of one NYCC Health Center during one morning were asked to volunteer and to pro- vide verbal informed consent form. One hundred percent of the interns (24 male, 6 female) volunteered to be meas- ured. A beam compass and engineering ruler graduated in millimeters were used to make measurements of head re- straint position. (Figure 4) The only inclusion criterion was the presence of a head restraint in the vehicle. Volun- teers were asked to sit with hands on the steering wheel in their normal driving position while two measurements were obtained. The vertical distance was measured from the most superior aspect of the top of the head to the top of the head restraint. (Figure 1) The horizontal distance was measured from the most posterior aspect of the head to the most anterior surface of the head restraint. (Figure 2) The measurements were then recorded on a chart. After the measurements were obtained, every volunteer was then asked to complete a one-page written survey to determine their knowledge of correct head restraint ...
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... Nevertheless, even with appropriate knowledge and training, it can be difficult to achieve the desired results. In a study involving chiropractors who were tasked with adjusting their car head rests to a proposed position, even these experts with musculoskeletal training, were not fully aware of how to reproduce recommended sitting positions (Taylor et al., 2005). In addition, it was observed that these individuals were unable to correctly reproduce their perceived ideal position in their own car set-up. ...
Car seats are becoming increasingly complex, aiming to promote driver wellbeing and comfort, and overcome musculoskeletal problems caused by poor driving posture and extended exposure. With an increasing amount of adjustments available, the navigation of seat controls can be difficult. A ‘posture coach’ is proposed to help drivers achieve a target seating position. However, it is unclear how best to deliver advice. In a static luxury vehicle, visual (animations) or verbal (speech) three-stage incremental guidance was provided on repeated occasions in a counterbalanced, within-subjects study to thirty experienced drivers - aiming to help guide them to the target seating posture (in terms of backrest and slide-axis seating adjustment). The on-board ECU diagnostic tool was used to determine the current seat position and inform subsequent advice. Results show that, overall, visual instructions were more effective in guiding participants toward the target. Moreover, participants were increasingly effective (proximity to target) in each successive attempt, suggesting positive learning effects following the guidance. A small majority of participants (16 of 30) preferred visual to verbal presentation of instruction. Those who preferred visual instructions were significantly better at following visual instructions than verbal, whereas there was no difference in accuracy for participants who preferred verbal instructions between visual or verbal instructions. This result suggests a multi-modal format may be most effective, especially given the potential distraction of visual information while driving. Results are discussed in the context of developing a ‘posture coach’ to make recommendations periodically throughout a journey (based on the real-time position of the seat) to prevent static posture-related strain.
... A significant factor is a lack of awareness among vehicle occupants regarding the measures that can be taken to prevent soft tissue injuries resulting from motor vehicle collisions. Many studies have reported that the majority of vehicle occupants do not correctly adjust their head restraints due to a lack of awareness of the consequences of incorrect adjustment (Insurance Bureau of Canada 2002;Lubin and Sehmer 1993;Maher 2000;Taylor et al. 2005;Viano and Gargan 1996;Young et al. 2005). More than 80 percent of Canadian drivers have their head restraints in an "improper" position, indicating lack of awareness regarding this simple yet important safety precaution (Fockler et al. 1998). ...
Previous research indicates that most vehicle occupants are unaware that a correctly adjusted, well-designed vehicular head restraint provides substantial protection against whiplash injuries. This study examined whether a brief educational intervention could improve awareness regarding whiplash injuries and prevention strategies among a cohort of vehicle fleet managers.
A brief written survey was administered prior to, and approximately 1 h after a 30-min presentation on whiplash injury and prevention measures, which was delivered at a regional fleet manager meeting held in British Columbia, Canada (n = 27 respondents).
Respondents had low baseline knowledge levels regarding the causes, consequences, and prevention of whiplash. Following the presentation, however, respondents improved awareness in all of these domains and, most important, reported an increased motivation to implement changes based on this newly acquired knowledge.
These results indicate that improved education practices and social marketing tools are potentially valuable to increase awareness among relevant stakeholders.
... Only 10% of drivers had an optimally positioned HR, with 75.6% of adjustable restraints being in the lowest possible position. Taylor, Burke, Gavencak, and Panwar (2005) directly measured HR position in a small sample (n ¼ 30) of chiropractic students in New York, and found that only 6.7% of drivers had correct vertical positioning of their HR, while 60% of HR were correctly positioned in the horizontal plane. Reasons stated for the poor HR positioning included poor HR mechanics and lack of driver knowledge. ...
... Young et al. (2005) noted correct identification of proper vertical HR position in 69% of respondents (n ¼ 51), while only 37% correctly identified the proper level for horizontal positioning of the HR. In the Taylor et al. (2005) study, 13% of respondents knew the correct vertical position for HR, while just 20% could identify the correct horizontal position. There have been no published studies examining the prevalence of correct HR positioning in Europe, or to analyse the relationship between driver knowledge and behaviour with regard to this important safety device. ...
... The purpose of this study was assess to driver knowledge of correct HR positioning and actual HR positioning, as well as associated factors in an Irish population of vehicle drivers. With regard to actual positioning of HR, the results show that this sample of drivers on a university campus had better HR positioning than reported for other populations (Taylor et al., 2005;Young et al., 2005). However, the results reported in both these studies may be artificially low, since in their criteria for optimal positioning were narrower than more commonly used criteria (RCAR, 2008). ...
A correctly positioned vehicle head restraint (HR) can reduce whiplash injury risk in collisions, however, HRs are often sub-optimally positioned. The primary aim of this study was to investigate vehicle HR position and driver knowledge of correct HR positioning in an Irish population. Secondary aims were to investigate the associations with driver age, gender and vehicle age. Data collection involved HR measurement and a driver questionnaire (n = 110). Just 27% of drivers had optimal HR positioning, while 30% had poor or marginal positioning. Newer vehicles (<5 years old) had better positioned HR in the horizontal plane (p = 0.036), than older vehicles. Younger drivers (<30 years) were more likely to have poorer positioning of HR (p = 0.002), than the 30 years or over group. Females were more likely to have better vertical positioning of their HR (p = 0.003) than males. Driver knowledge of correct position was variable, and not associated with actual HR position, with 65% knowing the correct vertical positioning standard but only 27% identifying the correct horizontal position. Many drivers have inadequately positioned HR, which needs to be addressed by improved vehicle design and public education.
... 14 Indeed, a recent study of chiropractic interns from the New York Chiropractic College in the United States revealed that only 13.3% of interns knew the recommended vertical distance for vehicular head restraints, and only 20% of surveyed interns knew the recommended horizontal distance. 15 The failure to practice simple safety precautions for such injuries is probably related to a scarcity of transport professionals, as well as a general lack of public awareness of the importance of proper head restraint positioning in the prevention of whiplash-type injuries. ...
... Finally, health care practitioners such as chiropractic professionals, are also well poised to play a vital role in preventing whiplash injury by educating their patients about preventative strategies to avoid whiplash injuries, including the correct use of head restraints. 15,24 In conclusion, the results from this survey indicate that municipal fleet managers in British Columbia place relatively low importance on whiplash injury prevention strategies, which directly impact employee safety. This study highlights a need to emphasize the importance of whiplash injury prevention strategies among fleet managers of British Columbia, and warrants an assessment of awareness levels fleet managers across other jurisdictions across Canada. ...
ABSTRACT
introduction: Current head restraint research indicates that 35% of serious neck injuries could be prevented if vehicles were equipped with well designed and fully adjustable head restraints that were properly adjusted by vehicle occupants. Current research also suggests a very low awareness regarding the injury prevention properties of head restraints.
Method: Using principles underpinning participatory action research, targeted stakeholders are being invited to participate in focus groups to learn about advances in head restraint design and to provide input in developing meaningful and persuasive key messages, toolkits and resources (print, web, media clips) relevant to their peers and customers. Initial target groups are fleet managers, occupational physicians, occupational health and safety coordinators, new drivers and community partners. An interactive website www.whiplashprevention.org is being created to act as a repository of knowledge, tools and resources with links to other social media including Facebook, RSS and Twitter. The evaluation matrix includes stakeholder evaluation (pre- and post-policy), number of website visits, level of interactivity, RSS outputs, plus number and level of engagement of community partners. This work will discuss strategy, methodology, evaluation techniques, plus expected results and contributions.
Results: Analysis of the initial focus group of fleet managers data identified key challenges, opportunities, communication networks and types of resources desired to promote the inclusion of head restraint safety criteria in purchase and lease decisions, and support educational or organizational interventions to increase awareness of the importance of adjusting head restraints appropriately and supporting desired behaviour change.
Conclusion: This research will explore the use of participatory action research methods and social media as mechanisms to promote community engagement in planning, implementing and evaluating targeted head restraint education programs.
Currently, proper vehicle head restraint (HR) positioning requires manual adjustment and knowledge on the part of the occupant. By removing the requirement for manual adjustment, an HR positioning system that autonomously moves and adapts the HR position properly to any seated occupant could serve to reduce the social and personal costs of whiplash injuries, as compared with existing manual systems. To achieve this, quantification of the occupant's head position relative to the HR is required. In a previous paper, a rectangular capacitive proximity-sensing array for the purpose of occupant head position quantification was studied. Here, a range-maximized sensor was first designed to reduce electrostatic and environmental disturbances. To achieve this, numerical modeling and laboratory experiments were conducted, and then, a design process for an interdigitated comb-shaped sensor geometry was proposed to maximize the sensing range of the sensor. The effects of temperature and humidity on the sensor were also evaluated and compensated. A novel capacitive proximity-sensing array was then designed, which had the minimum number of the aforementioned comb-shaped sensors necessary for accurately estimating the 3-D position of an occupant's head in near real time. This estimation was carried out using a nonparametric neural network. The above capacitive array was then integrated and fully contained in a customized HR as part of a vehicle seat safety system. The system was tested and demonstrated that such a head position sensing methodology would be capable of autonomously positioning an HR to meet the guidelines of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).
Whiplash is the most common injury type arising from motor vehicle collisions, often leading to long-term suffering and disability. Prevention of such injuries is possible through the use of appropriate, correctly positioned, vehicular head restraints.
To survey the awareness and knowledge level of vehicle fleet managers in the province of British Columbia, Canada, on the topics of vehicle safety, whiplash injury, and prevention; and to better understand whether these factors influence vehicle purchase/lease decisions.
A survey was administered to municipal vehicle fleet managers at a professional meeting (n = 27).
Although many respondents understood the effectiveness of vehicle head restraints in the prevention of whiplash injury, the majority rarely adjusted their own headrests. Fleet managers lacked knowledge about the seriousness of whiplash injuries, their associated costs for Canada's healthcare system, and appropriate head restraint positions to mitigate such injuries. The majority of respondents indicated that fleet vehicle purchase/lease decisions within their organization did not factor whiplash prevention as an explicit safety priority.
There is relatively little awareness and enforcement of whiplash prevention strategies among municipal vehicle fleet managers.
