Toyota's latest safety innovation is an active headrest that reduces the intensity of whiplash injuries common in rear-end collisions. The safety device will be introduced across Toyota's fleets in the near future as the latest initiative in what it calls the 'realisation of sustainable mobility.'
The active headrest is an extension of Toyota's Whiplash Injury Lessening concept seat, in which both the seat and headrest moves forward to counter the force of the accident and support a passenger's head and lower back to reduce stresses on the neck. The system detects any pressure applied to the seat, triggering the headrest to move diagonally upwards to catch the back of the head.
Initial testing has found that new seats with the active headrest reduced the severity of whiplash injuries by 10- to 20-percent in Toyota's own evaluations compared with current designs.
[Source: Toyota via
Carview]
