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Volvo Scores Top Rating for Head Restraints

8 June 1999

    ROCKLEIGH, N.J. -- All Volvo cars available on the market today offer among the 
industry's best head restraints, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).  
This is the third year IIHS has provided these ratings, and the third year every Volvo 
model's head restraint has been celebrated.

    According to IIHS, "A good design means the restraint is positioned behind and close 
to the back of an occupant's head so it's where it needs to be to provide protection 
in a rear-end crash."

    "Whiplash injuries are a focus for Volvo because the symptoms are extremely painful 
and lasting.  Additionally, whiplash is among the most common and the single 
most expensive injury resulting from traffic incidents in our society today," according 
to William Shapiro, Director of Safety for Volvo Cars of North America, Inc.

    Volvo's head restraints are only one part of the company's efforts to combat whiplash 
and related injuries.  The Whiplash Protection System (WHIPS) recently debuted as standard equipment 
on Volvo's new S80 sedan. Based on two mechanical parts, the system is activated the 
moment the car is hit from behind.

    Other recent testing by IIHS confirms that WHIPS "does a better job than even a good 
conventional seatback/head restraint combination in reducing the sudden relative motion 
of the head and neck that causes many whiplash injuries," according to IIHS president Brian O'Neill.