According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, the Toyota Tundra was the only vehicle among 21 Trucks and SUVs that was given a rating of 'good' for seat and head restraint testing. The Dodge Nitro, Hummer H3, Dodge Ram, and Ford Ranger rate 'Poor.'
The designs of seats and head restraints in 21 current SUV, pickup, and minivan models are rated good for protecting people in rear impacts, but those in 54 other models are rated marginal or poor. Another 12 are rated acceptable. The latest evaluations of occupant protection in rear-end collisions by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found the seat/head restraints in more than half of light truck and minivan models fall short of state-of-the-art protection from neck injury or whiplash.
The ratings of good, acceptable, marginal, or poor for 87 current models are based on geometric measurements of head restraints and simulated crashes that together assess how well people of different sizes would be protected in a typical rear crash.
Check out these videos for a behind the scenes look at the seats and head restraint testing done by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety to learn more about what vehicles pass and what vehicles fail at protecting your head in an accident.
Video: Behind the scenes seats and head restraints Testing
Video: Rear Crash Test/ head restraints Comparo
Sources: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety