Agree.
Also people seem to think the head rests are there for you to constantly be resting your head on but they are head restraints.. They're there so you don't break your neck if you get in an accident - not to be comfy on a long drive.
This is the correct answer. It's a safety device, not for resting your head. When the foam is not compressed it is not good neck alignment, but in an accident, your head slams into the foam and crushes it, that's when your neck is in good alignment, preventing damage.
I agree that the main reason for them is to prevent breaking your neck in an accident. But I have to ask... Why not make something that allows for both? Surely we can make something that helps ease our neck and shoulder muscles for long drives and prevent us from snapping our necks in a car accident from in front or back of us. No?
Those exist in fancier cars. Recently rented a jaguar f-type for a weekend getaway road trip and we noticed after an hour or 2 that the headrests actually were functional and comfy. Why the hell that shape isnt used in a normal seat i have no idea.
Car driver problems lmao. Just ride a dragon to work instead.
No way, I'm still picking scales out of my crack from the last time I gave that a shot
Every is talking about how the headrest it's made this way for crash safety when it's blatantly untrue.
The headrest is designed to protect the heads and neck of the average man, not woman. Decades of crash test dummies have all been modeled on the average height and weight of the male body. This is why women are 47% likelier to sustain a serious injury in a crash.
Think of the where the headrest is in the optimal position to protect the driver, and then move that a few inches lower. Adjustable headrest often doesn't even go low enough to accommodate for many women. There is an actual cutoff height where you are just screwed and expected to die more. Not to mention the user error of forgetting to adjust the headrest from the factory setting of accommodating to the average male height.
This is why so many people are curled up like a shrimp. They are either: short, a woman, or the statistically deadliest of all, both.
You're talking about the height of the headrest, not how far forward they go for some reason
Also they contradict themselves
The thesis is that it’s not for safety reasons then their proof is that safety tests are flawed
This works against the thesis as the conclusion is that it is still done for safety but may not be safe
Oh it's 'blatantly' true that the headrest are for safety. The problem is engineers can't design a perfect one size fits all. So things are designed around averages. It's the best they can do.
If you fall outside of those averages at either end well, there is going to be more risk. As a male who is above average height, automotive headrests add more risk for me just as they do for a smaller woman.
But they can make a headrests that do that. My car's headrests can tilt forward or back depending on your preference. And it was made in the 2010's, so it's not like this is a super old, or new, development.
Making them adjustable makes the most sense as it allows people to adjust it to what they need, rather than just designing for the average person. The seats themselves are adjustable; you can slide them forward and back, up and down, some even tilt them forward or back. The headrests should be no different.
Then design one that passes all the required testing and market it. Just because it seems easy doesn't mean that it IS easy. And your old car was quite possibly built under different guidelines. Meaning that they no longer meet safety standards.
A head rest is designed to stop you getting whiplash. How does someone being shorter, make it more dangerous?
Life Pro Tip:
Take them off and turn them around, so they point backwards.
Thats what i‘ve done.
Just take them off at that point, if your neck is gunna break anyway might as well go for the gold.
That's to correct your posture, soon you'll have a mighty hump!
Because head rests are not meant to be pillows. They're meant to cushion your head in a wreck and prevent injury from whiplash. I don't know the specifics but that's the gist. They're for safety, not comfort.
Though the one in the image looks particularly wrong lol.
It's not meant to be a pillow but it also shouldn't force your head forward at an unnatural angle just because you have decent posture. Car headrests are designed for hunchbacks.
Many people dont realize you can pull them forward and they then pop back. Yours may have been pulled partially forward.
I am in this picture.
(really need to work on my posture.)
montgomery burns
I am very short, and sit up rather straight. My head hits what should be the most comfortable parts of every kind of seating in the most uncomfortable way. This is an accurate representation of the sensation, when curved neck portion ends up at top of your skull, and doubly so, if it's a bucket seat. Special cushions help, in certain vehicles, which can also alleviate the seatbelt going practically across your throat. Our old Outback is tolerable, which is lovely.
We have a couple IKEA Poang chairs at home, and I need to make pillow booster-seats for the damned things, or it's just this image, lol
My wife's RAV4 is like this. Long drives are torture after a few hours. My neck, shoulders, and back end up in knots.
I took my head rest out on my rav.
I might have died when my head snapped off, but at least my back and neck stopped killing me for the five years I drove it.
Same I have been removing the headrest in my wife's car whenever I'm the one driving. It's the whole posture, but the ponytail makes it worse. If I really -honestly- try and fit into the seat shape, my head is tilted so low I'm looking down at my feet. It's ridiculous
Often my hair is in a ponytail and it does make it impossible to drive comfortably. Like I have to leave my hair down and windows up to drive comfortably.
Crash test ratings probably.
So your neck doesn't whip back and keeps your spine in line.
I hate this so much
I hate those long distance busses. If you sit up straight, the headrest is in your back. If you slouch down to get your head at the headrest so you can get some rest, the question becomes where to put your legs without pain and discomfort.
I don't think my head ever touches my headrest when I'm driving. Rarely, I'll lean back while sitting still, but that's the only time I'm ever even aware of it.
Does anyone else have the opposite problem? I feel like head rests are always too far back. If I place my head flat against them then more often than not I'm in an uncomfortable driving position because my neck is tilted back and up. I have to lean forward to drive most cars and it really annoys me.
Edit: I'm starting to think that a lot of you drive with the seat in an upright position. I sit at a slight recline because it's easier on my back. Maybe that's the problem. Try reclining more.
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