"Whip effect" or "whip trial" while driving.

From time to time in various car accidents we have heard or seen various types of injuries. One type of injury is to the neck.

"Whiplash injury" describes overextension and neck flexion and is one of the most common injuries, usually non-fatal, but without ruling out the opposite.

This injury can occur at speeds of 30km or even less. Also, the "whip effect" can be caused by a side impact, it does not have to happen only from behind or frontally.

It goes without saying that the greater the damage to our neck, the sharper the movement.

For this reason, the automotive industry emphasizes the design of the seats, which in combination with the head restraints reduce or -in specific cases- eliminate this phenomenon.

Since the late 1960s, head restraints have been mandatory on every vehicle, both in the driver's seat and in the rest of the vehicle.

Each manufacturer places different types of head restraints in the seats of the vehicle, such as: standard head restraint, integrated, adjustable, active, automatically adjustable.

A head restraint while driving must be properly adjusted to give the maximum it can for safety.

The driver must have received the appropriate training for the correct adjustment: his top should be slightly above eye level, the distance behind the head should be as minimal as possible.

Many neck injuries due to car accidents are due to incorrect adjustment of the driver's position and in particular the position of the headrest. In addition, neck injury can occur from any movement similar to a vehicle collision.

By Manolis Gialitakis