Although the company in the vehicle is relatively well protected compared to other road users (i.e. pedestrians, cyclists), they can get injured at relatively very low speeds. The most vulnerable body parts of the passengers in a vehicle are the head and cervical spine. As proven by the data from the In-depth Accident Analysis (HADN), injuries to the cervical spine occur in roughly one third of all accidents. The chance of severe, or even fatal, injury in side crashes with other vehicles or solid obstacles is high, and therefore it is crucial to guarantee the security of the company in the vehicle.

The Transport Research Center is developing a new type of active headrest. This headrest should be able to limit the sideways movement of the head in an eccentric (misaligned) impact. In an eccentric or side impact, the headrest designed by us will react similarly to an airbag; the control unit sends an order to the extrusion of the side parts of the headrest, which should absorb the rapid movement of the passenger and, to a great extent, limit the movement of the head and cervical spine.

Contact: Ing. Pavlína Moravcová, pavlina.moravcova@cdv.cz

 Product file: Innovative Headrest (4.49 MB)