International Insurance Whiplash Prevention Group Works Hard To Prevent Whiplash

In 1969, British insurers collaborated to form the Motor Insurance Repair Research Centre, also known as Thatcham. Thatcham's main task is to help British insurers lower their costs by researching safe and cost-effective methods of body repair and by focussing on accident prevention measures. Within the last ten years, Thatcham helped to found the International Insurance Whiplash Prevention Group (IIWPG), whose sole aim is to reduce the number of whiplash injury claims by creating safer standards for drivers and passengers.

Thatcham has undertaken to continually research the causes of whiplash. Whiplash is a type of injury sustained through rear impact collisions, usually as the result of a motor accident. The forces involved cause the spine and surrounding soft tissues to move in a whip-like motion, often stretching then and occasionally resulting in tearing and bruising. The symptoms of whiplash can be both painful and debilitating.

Thatcham aims to reduce the causes of whiplash through amending vehicle design and other engineering solutions. The first point of research is applied to head restraints. All vehicles undergo a static head-restraint measurement, rating its performance when measures against a crash-test dummy. The restraint is then tested in one of four geometric positions, rated as poor, marginal, acceptable and good. As Thatcham is one of the world's leaders in whiplash research, they have access to state-of-the-art technologies, such as the BioRID dummy, which is able to replicate the complex actions of the human body in a crash situation more accurately than traditional dummies.

Further research is also conducted into seat design and distance, seatbelt design and the use of airbags. Thatcham have confirmed that they will be taking part in Frankfurt's Automechanika, the world's leading trade-fair for the automotive industry. In addition to showcasing their methods and research into discovering the causes and prevention of whiplash, Thatcham also hope to consolidate their knowledge of the injury into an insurance claims handling tool, designed to enable claims to be processed more accurately and more quickly.

Nicholas Jervis of whiplash claim specialists 1stClaims, welcomes the research. He says: "For too long in my opinion many people have suffered whiplash injuries when improvements to car safety, and more training of how to prevent whiplash injuries such as correct adjustment of car headrests which we have always heavily promoted, could have prevented them.

" He is also positive about the long-term effects of such detailed research. "In addition, Thatcham's research should help to bring the number of whiplash cases down. While insurance companies may benefit from the lower number of whiplash injury claims being made, the real advantage is passed onto the driver, who is less at risk from sustaining this type of injury and from us all as less injuries leads to less compensation payments. I have always said that part of our role as a whiplash claims process is to prevent injuries when we can, and pick up the pieces when we can't, so I am delighted with Thatcham's ongoing research."

Drivers can help themselves avoid the painful consequences of whiplash by ensuring that their seats and headrests are in a good position. With the back of the seat supporting the spine and the headrest level with the top of the head, the whipping motion that causes the symptoms of whiplash can be interrupted. However, the biggest measure anyone can implement is to observe safe driving standards at all times. We hope you all stay safe.