“Rest up” program launched in New Brunswick

The Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) is taking its “Rest up! Save your neck” program to New Brunswick this summer, with university students across the province educating drivers on proper headrest adjustment.
“Rest up” is the IBC’s newest safety initiative, and also part of its five-point plan to tackle auto insurance reform in New Brunswick (other elements include the already-completed depopulation of the Facility Association, and a proposal for a “no frills” auto product).
Sixteen students will staff exhibits at community events throughout the province, teaching proper headrest adjustment and handing brochures.
“Rear-end collisions account for 80% of whiplash and other soft tissue injuries in Canada,” notes Don Forgeron, Atlantic region vice president for IBC. “If every driver and passenger were to perform the simple act of properly adjusting their headrests, the number of whiplash injuries could be reduced by 40%.”
Proper headrest adjustment is level with the top of the head and nor more than 5 to 10 centimeters from the back of the head. IBC research indicates only 14% of drivers have headrests adjusted properly.
The industry hopes the initiative will help take a bite out of the $4 billion spent annually to treat soft tissue injuries as a result of auto accidents.