WHIPS

4 References

For other uses, see Whips (disambiguation).

[1] https://www.volvoclub.org.uk/press/releases/2004/
whiplash_protection_system.shtml

WHIPS, or Whiplash Protection System, is a system to

protect against automotive whiplash injuries introduced
by Volvo in 1998.[1] It was launched when the Volvo
S80[2] was released for the 1999 model year and has since
been part of the standard equipment of all new Volvo
cars.

[2] http://www.volvogroup.com/group/global/en-gb/
newsmedia/pressreleases/previous/1998/_layouts/CWP.
Internet.VolvoCom/NewsItem.aspx?News.ItemId=
22765&News.Language=en-gb
[3] http://support.volvocars.com/uk/cars/Pages/
owners-manual.aspx?mc=Y556&my=2015&sw=
14w20&article=f7330701530b6a6cc0a801e80097015f

Details

[4] http://www.iihs.org/iihs/news/desktopnews/
whiplash-injuries-much-less-likely-to-occur-in-cars-with-new-seat-head-res

A WHIPS equipped seat is designed so that the entire

backrest helps to protect the front occupants neck in a
case of a rear impact. When the WHIPS system is deployed, the front seat backrests and headrests are lowered
backward to change the seating position of the driver and
front seat passenger.[3] The main energy is absorbed via a
pivot at the base of the seat mechanism which allows the
seat to move around the occupants actual hip joint while
moving rearward to absorb additional energy. A piece of
metal inside the backrest hinge deforms, absorbing more
energy. The hinge piece needs to be replaced after having
been deployed.[4]

[5] http://www.driveandstayalive.com/articles%
20and%20topics/safety%20equipment/article_
volvo-WHIPS-whiplash-protection-system.htm
[6] http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/pdf/esv/esv20/
07-0468-O.pdf

Scholarly articles about WHIPS at PubMed

FMVSS 202a Dynamic Evaluation of the Volvo
WHIPS Seat; html, pdf.
WHIPS query at the IIHS website.

According to Volvos trac accident research team, the

WHIPS equipped seat resulted in a 33% reduction in
short term injury and a 54% reduction in long term
whiplash injuries caused by car accidents.[5]

Overall eectiveness report

Context

Similar front seat technology is now found in many Asian,

European, and American vehicles. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) rates head restraint and
seat designs and the 2009 Euro NCAP 5 star safety testing now includes whiplash protection as part of the testing
program. Saab Automobile AB was rst with introducing
active head restraints in 1997.[6]

See also
Side Impact Protection System
1

5 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

5.1

Text

WHIPS Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WHIPS?oldid=686856579 Contributors: Rich Farmbrough, Vsk, Vossanova, BD2412,

FlaBot, Ground Zero, RussBot, Ms2ger, Randroide, Widefox, Alexbot, SchreiberBike, Addbot, Yobot, Xqbot, HiNoony, ClueBot NG,
BG19bot, Hgb1217, RotlinkBot, Acroslot and Anonymous: 11

5.2

Images

File:Question_book-new.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/99/Question_book-new.svg License: Cc-by-sa-3.0

Contributors:
Created from scratch in Adobe Illustrator. Based on Image:Question book.png created by User:Equazcion Original artist:
Tkgd2007

5.3

Content license

Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0