Head Restraints

These are popularly known as "head rests," a terrible misnomer.

Their purpose is not to give your head a place to rest, but to prevent it from snapping back sharply in a rear-end collision. Light trucks must have front-seat head restraints; though they're not mandatory, look for them on other seats as well. If a head restraint is adjustable, it should be adjusted high enough (about ear level) and far enough forward to touch the occupant's head, not his or her neck.

Saab and Volvo are also offering a "whiplash protection system" that allows the seat back and head restraint to automatically shift rearward during a rear-end collision, thus absorbing some of the force and protecting the occupants from neck injury.