AUTOMOTIVE SEATS AND SEAT BACKS: TAKE NO COMFORT IN THEM

By Edward M. Ricci, Esq.
Theodore J. Leopold, Esq.

• Seat system components
• Hazards
• Injuries
• What can be done

FOREWORD

For a long time we have all been concerned about the safety of our children riding in car seats. The media has done a good job of educating the public to the dangers of most portable child seats. But what about the seats that come with the car? The ones that adults use. There has been a conspiracy of silence about defects in standard car seats.

Flimsy car seats are collapsing in otherwise harmless collision, killing and maiming thousands of people each year. As federal regulators refuse to regulate and auto manufacturers dodge their duty to provide safe products, a tragedy grows in the darkness of ignorance.

The victims of poor seat back construction range from Gloria Gray, a 67-year-old grandmother who died after her car was rear-ended and collided with a truck; to former GM engineer Junior Day, who suffers chronic pain and diminished mental capacity after he lost control of his car when his seat collapsed.1

Unfortunately, there is a long history of seat back failures. Government and industry have known of these defects for years. Despite relatively simple and inexpensive design changes, little has been done to ensure occupant safety.

Finally, there is a ray of hope for the motoring public. Victims and their families now are insisting that the broken promises of federal safety officials be remedied and auto makers redress their wrongs. They want people to enter their cars and trucks knowing their safety was a paramount importance when the vehicles were designed and built. They want the comfort of knowing their seats are safe. Back to top

INTRODUCTION

Each year 1,200 people die in rear end car accidents, and many thousands more are seriously injured. A large number of these deaths and injuries, probably the great majority, are caused by the partial or total failure of the restraint systems that should be protecting car occupants in rear-end impacts.

To most of us, the term "restraint systems" means seat belts and air bags. Most motorists know that properly designed seat belts and air bags are able to provide protection in frontal crashes at speeds in the 30-40 mph range. However, few of us know what kind of restraint protection is being provided in rear-end crashes. We assume it's adequate, when in fact it's dreadfully inadequate.

The reason for our false comfort is most car companies and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), which talk a great deal about "buckling up for safety" have remained silent about rear-end seat back crash protection.

In front-end crashes, the vehicle's forward movement is abruptly stopped. Seat belts keep the occupants from hurdling forward. Air bags do the same thing. The goal is to maintain the occupant in an upright position and to prevent his/her body from striking into hard surfaces, other occupants or from being ejected out of the car.

When a car is hit from the rear, the forces are in the opposite direction. The car is abruptly propelled forward, and occupants are thrown backwards. The objective of a seat back is to act as a restraint system in rear-end crashes. Just the way a seat belt holds one in the seat and restricts forward motion, a seat back restricts rearward motion in a rear-end crash. The seat back should maintain the occupant in an upright position and prevent his/her body from striking hard surfaces or other people in the car and prevent the occupant from being ejected out windows or doors.