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Saving your neck by minimizing whiplash injury risk in a car crash
doesn’t have to come at a high price with Hyundai’s Getz acclaimed by NRMA
Insurance for its active front seat head restraints.
International research conducted by a number of insurers including NRMA
Insurance in Australia, the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety in the United
States and others in the United Kingdom and Germany, tested the effectiveness of
head restraints in 115 vehicles.
The test simulates a 30kph rear-end collision using a highly sophisticated
sled device and human like dummy.
NRMA Insurance Head of Industry Research, Robert McDonald, said the research
shows that the cost or size of a vehicle is not always directly related to
safety.
“The Hyundai Getz is one of the most affordable and smallest cars on the
market yet it features active front head restraints that are more effective than
some in luxury vehicles and 4WDs.
“Hyundai is to be congratulated for fitting the Getz with such an important
safety feature.
“If Hyundai can offer active head restraints in a fair priced small car then
we expect others to follow suit,” he said.
The only other models to rate ‘good’ were the two Swedish marques at well
over three times Getz pricing and a couple of 4WDs costing more than double
Getz.
Safety accolade
This finding is the second recent safety-related accolade for the new Getz
1.6, which from $14,490* is the Australian market’s most affordable car with
standard ABS, EBD (Electronic Brakeforce Distribution) and rear disc brakes,
which helped it reclaim the Australia’s Best Small Car title for 2005 as judged
by the NRMA and its sister state Royal Automobile Clubs.
The international research which was partly funded by NRMA Insurance showed
only 15 per cent of vehicles received the highest rating of ‘good’ but
alarmingly, 40 per cent of vehicles scored the lowest rating of ‘poor’.
“In a crash, drivers in a vehicle with an ineffective head restraint may feel
a force on their neck equivalent to a head-high tackle by a front row forward so
it’s alarming that so many of the cars tested (64 per cent) received a
‘marginal’ to ‘poor’ rating,” said Mr McDonald.
According to NRMA Insurance CTP claims data, more than 3,000 people each year
in NSW and the ACT alone suffer whiplash associated disorders after a crash,
highlighting the significance of the issue.
“The incidence and severity of neck injuries sustained in car crashes can be
significantly reduced by better head restraint design and passengers proactively
adjusting the head restraint to suit their seating position,” said Mr McDonald.
Data drawn from this research will be shared with car manufacturers to help
them build safer cars with improved head restraints.
The new, freshened style Getz also added leather trimming of its steering
wheel—with neat audio thumb tabs—and gearshift knob, bigger and more powerful
1.6 litre and 1.4 litre engines with in some cases less fuel use, WMA capability
to its now 45W CD/FM/AM audio and a higher quality twill seat fabric.
Getz owners, like all new and many used Hyundai buyers, are reassured by the
integral vehicle quality demonstrated by Hyundai’s original industry factory new
car warranty of five years/130,000km and the fact that it is a brand original,
not something re-badged from a lesser-known maker.
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