First portable gas cans get the Sammy treatment, now car headrests!

[RCA]

So, I have a '08 Accord loaner car right now because my '02 Accord is at the dealer getting maintenance done. All I can say is ouch! The headrest is slanted at a draconian 45 degree angle forward.

I went home and did some research and sure e'fucking'nough Uncle Sam has decided to make us all safe again by requiring cars made after September 01, 2008 to have the new headrest design which is "supposed" to reduce whiplash by pushing the headrest higher and closer to your head.

Let's see, my neck is throbbing from driving that piece of shit car for 30 mins and I'm supposed to be safer? What a bunch of communist assholes!!

http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/rules/rulings/HeadRest/update/202FinalRule.html

[speciallyblend]

haha lmfao:) my thought is how the hell you even get into that lil car:P we see honda accords at the end of winter after the snow melts on the side of the roads:) honda accords=road kill in the co mtns!!

[dannno]

They probably found out that the average person tilts their car seat back so far that they needed extra support in that direction. It's too bad they couldn't let care manufacturers decide this, as many car models are typically driven like that whereas most models are not.

[LibForestPaul]

Hey, that headrest is perfect at 45. Easier to take a nap while parked on the expressway.

[LibForestPaul]

I watched a video on pbs some time ago. Some person from auto mfg pulled out a dictionary sized book. It was a book of regulations pretty much. Where armrests are to be position, where locks need to be, how they operate, and on and on.

[acptulsa]

The regulations are insane. And now they want to keep all of these heavyweight requirements and bump the fleet average mpg to 35. Good luck with that...

I still think the three wheeled car (legally a motorcycle in the U.S., and far less regulated as a result) will turn out to be the wave of the future. Just as the SUV (being a 'truck') was a response to insane auto regulations, the 'motorcycle' will likely be that next response.

Until they get to overregulating those. Can you imagine a two-wheeler with airbags?!

[2young2vote]

I always picture a security man with a gun standing in front of a prisoner. The prisoner has chains on his legs with big iron balls at the ends of the chains. The prisoner is to serve the public cold glasses of water with ice, but the chains and iron balls make it impossible for him to quickly movie. The people get angry when he is slow to deliver their ice water and they complain to the security man that the prisoner is too slow who then whips the prisoner to make him go faster.

The prisoner is the car companies, the security man is the government and the people are people who want regulations on the cars.

[KCIndy]

RCA, if you still have the car, give the headrests a close examination. I've found that on a lot of the newer cars, the headrest can be pulled up and completely extracted from the seat. There's usually a little button or tab you will need to depress in order to extract it completely.

Once it's out, flip it around, then re-insert the headrest backwards into the seat. You'll probably need to depress the aforementioned button/tab in order to get the headrest re-seated. Once you get it back in place, your headrest is now angled with a backward tilt.

It won't help you much if you get rear-ended, but if you feel like taking a chance with that unfortunate possibility then at least the damn thing won't be jabbing you in the back of the head all day.... I usually do this first thing with any rental I get. Just keep a sharp eye on your rear view mirror!! :)