WASHINGTON -- A lot of us think the back seat is the safest spot in a crash.
New research and crash video show that's not always the case.
Researchers from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) said new technology has made the front safer, but seat belts in the back rows have remained mostly the same.
Now they're hoping auto manufacturers will turn their focus around and add new measures to the back rows.
In a first-of-its-kind study, the researchers assessed cases of 117 people involved in head-on collisions and found sometimes front seat passengers fared better than those in the back, even when back seat passengers used a seat belt.
In one case, a 9-year-old was killed in a crash despite being "the only one properly restrained."
In another case, a 7-year-old was killed, but other passengers, including the driver, sustained only minor injuries.
“There hasn’t been much research in this area,” said Russ Rader, Senior Vice President of Communications for IIHS.
“We also are focused on it now because so many adults are riding in the back seat because of ride share services and things like that,” he said.
Crash test video shows how seat belts in the back fight against pure physics.
Current restraints still leave dummies' heads whipping back and forth and the belts pushing with strong force into their bodies.
Compare that with the front seat, where automakers often place devices limiting the pressure from the seat belt a crash, and air bags have long protected heads and faces.
“People are walking away from crashes that they wouldn't have 25 years ago,” Rader said. “The rear seat is lagging behind.”
Rader points out seat belts in the back seat often don't diffuse the force of a tight belt, and no one offers airbags stopping back row passengers' heads from slamming into the seats directly in front of them.
“The lack of advanced features on seat belts in the backseat is putting people at risk in some kinds of crashes.”
Researchers point out that inflatable seat belts, such as those offered by Ford and Mercedes-Benz, help protect rear seat passengers.
Automakers have also experimented with airbags that drop from the roof of the car in the back, but no one offers that today.
