IIHS Calls for Improved Rear-Seat Protection

Carmakers need to improve the safety restraints they install for rear seat passengers, says the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

IIHS cites its analysis of belted rear-seat passengers who were killed or seriously injured in 117 serious crashes. The most common type of trauma, inflicted upon 59 victims, was to the chest.

The crashes resulted in 37 fatalities, but most were deemed survivable—if occupants had been protected by the same level of safety equipment installed for passengers in the front seats, IIHS says. The institute notes that rear seats are not equipped with frontal airbags. Nor to most have seatbelt pretensioners or systems that limit the force exerted against the shoulder belt during a crash.

IIHS is best known for developing crash tests which go beyond federal requirements and coax manufacturers to upgrade their safety systems. The institute says it hopes to achieve the same result by developing a new test specifically to assess rear-seat safety performance.

Rear seats currently provide limited airbag protection, mainly in the form of systems that deploy only in side impacts. IIHS says inflatable seatbelts—similar to those offered in select Ford and Mercedes-Benz vehicles—can help distribute forces across the torso and chest in frontal crashes.

Companies also are testing airbags that deploy from the ceiling in front of rear-seat passengers to prevent them from hitting the front seat back and other surfaces. But these self-adjusting systems haven’t made it into production.

IIHS emphasizes that airbags and seatbelts need to be used in tandem to maximize safety benefits. The group also reiterates that properly installed rear child seats are extremely effective safety devices.