The objective was to study the influence of various types of car seats aimed at protecting whiplash injuries on real-life injury outcome. Furthermore, the aim was to study correlation between whiplash consumer crash tests and real-life injury outcome. In both cases the influence on longterm whiplash symptoms were studied.

Since 1997 various seats aimed at lowering the risk of whiplash injuries have been introduced in cars. The cars were divided into groups according to the safety technology used. Since 2003 consumer crash test programmes have been running. The correlation on group level between whiplash injury outcome in real-life crashes and the test results of consumer crash tests both in Sweden by Folksam and the Swedish Road Administration and by IIWPG were studied.

The results show that cars fitted with more advanced whiplash protection systems had 50% lower risk of whiplash injuries leading to long-term symptoms than cars launched since 1997 without whiplash systems. All three whiplash preventive technologies studied, RHR (Reactive Head Restraints), WhiPS (Whiplash Prevention System), and WIL (Whiplash Lessening System), showed lower risk of whiplash injury leading to long-term symptoms than cars fitted with standard seats.

A correlation was found between consumer whiplash crash tests and real-life outcome. It was found that cars rated in the worst group in the IIWPG and Folksam/SRA ratings had 43% and 60% higher risk of long-term symptoms in real-life crashes, respectively, than cars rated in the best group.

A limitation with the tests is that the consumer crash test programmes are conducted with the seat only, while the real-life injury outcome concerns the performance of the whole car.

It can be concluded that seats aimed at preventing whiplash injuries in general also lower the risk in real-life crashes. Furthermore it can be concluded that results from existing consumer crash test programmes for whiplash correlate with reallife injury outcome