Women's car insurance news
11/06/2008
Women must check car head restraints often
Dedicated women's car insurance are alarmed by new findings that women are three times more likely to sustain whiplash injury in a rear-end shunt accident.
Swedish researchers have found that women generally sit closer to the steering wheel than male drivers and their car seat is usually in a more upright position.
For both sexes, the risk is twice as great when sitting in the driver's seat as opposed to the front passenger seat.
Calls have been made for changes in safety testing procedures to take into consideration the height and weight differences of the two sexes.
A Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) spokesperson said, "A properly adjusted head restraint will prevent whiplash by reducing the distance between the back of the head and head restraint, stopping the neck bending back."
A spokesperson for leading women's car insurance company, CoverGirl, said, "We would remind all female drivers, particularly those who share their car with someone else, to reposition their head restraint each time they drive, to ensure sufficient protection from whiplash injury in the event of a car accident."
