New figures from Thatcham show popular ‘City Cars’ as the least effective in saving the occupant from debilitating whiplash injury in the event of low speed rear end collisions. The latest vehicle head restraint ratings, released by the insurers’ research centre this week, reveal that in an increasingly popular sector, consumers looking to reduce their environmental impact are being short changed when it comes to safety with no ‘City Cars’ achieving a ‘good’ rating.

As the UK authority on seat and head restraint safety, Thatcham’s figures are sure to be a blow to motorists who in pursuit of economical, low emissions and easy to park vehicles are finding themselves more susceptible to sustaining whiplash. With most rear end collisions occurring during low speed city driving and with smaller, lighter cars being intrinsically higher risk, Thatcham’s figures are of even more concern.

Research Manager – Crash at Thatcham, Matthew Avery, who is responsible for the seat testing procedure and production of the ratings said, “Although across the board we are seeing improved seat designs with around 75% of all new seats tested now achieving a ‘GOOD’ or ‘ACCEPTABLE’ rating, more can certainly still be done. City cars are not equipped to protect their occupants’ necks when they have to absorb the crash energy from larger, heavier vehicles which combined with poor seat design makes whiplash far more likely.