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Often my hair is in a ponytail and it does make it impossible to drive comfortably. Like I have to leave my hair down and windows up to drive comfortably.
Car driver problems lmao. Just ride a dragon to work instead.
No way, I’m still picking scales out of my crack from the last time I gave that a shot
My wife’s RAV4 is like this. Long drives are torture after a few hours. My neck, shoulders, and back end up in knots.
I took my head rest out on my rav.
I might have died when my head snapped off, but at least my back and neck stopped killing me for the five years I drove it.
Take them all the way out, and flirt it around.
Or see if it moves
Okay so I think some people might need a course on why headrests are designed this ungodly way…
during a rear-end collision or sudden braking as the vehicle makes a sharp forward-backward movement. Without the angled headrests, passengers may suffer spine misalignment of spine-related injuries due to sudden movements. The headrests also keep the spine in position with its “forward-looking” design. This stops the pain and other symptoms associated with a misaligned spine.
So…I should turn my headrest back around, huh?
Yeah bruh
Many people dont realize you can pull them forward and they then pop back. Yours may have been pulled partially forward.
My car is great, modern, amazing battery life, affordable… It has a headrest like in the OP she it is fixed. Like fused with the seat.
The best bet is I’m quite tall, so it pokes me in the shoulder blades.
It sucks but, other that that, it was an amazing deal when I bought it.
I’m sure you’re aware, but that’s pretty dangerous. You will most likely have pretty bad a neck injury if you get into a wreck. It might be worth upgrading the seat to one that fits you better.
He’ll likely have a pretty bad neck injury without the accident. Keeping your body in an unnatural alignment like that for long periods of time is just begging for spinal injury.
Procrustes nodding
Everyone should take this moment to consider correct posture.
One of the best pieces of advice I ever received was to change the angle of my rear-view mirror to remind myself to sit straight.
In essence, try to force the lowest part of your neck to touch the heighest point on the headrest.
Then notice how you cannot see out of your rear view mirror. Adjust it from this position, and get used to it.
It’s gonna be weird for a while, but I assure you, this is what is best for your spine. I’ll take your gratitude in advance, for when you’re 80 and not folded over.
Hey I started doing that! Kinda helps
Lowest part of neck to higheat part of the headrest? Sounds like the before times when peoples necks snapped in acidents because nothing stopped their head shooting backward
Yeah, the headrests in cars are angled forward because it’s the safest in the event of a crash. Unfortunately, that means that the headrests are generally uncomfortable. The back of the head should be resting on the headrest; the neck should NOT be resting on the headrest unless you want to risk permanent injury or death.
If you have an accident, whiplash is partially countered by a seatbelt, but if you do have an accident, the severity of your neck damage will be dependant on your resting posture.
With a correct posture, there is less deviation in how your spine bends.
In any case, headrests are adjustable, make sure it’s set correctly. Unless your posture is perfect, changing your ergonomics will be uncomfortable.
Whiplash is from your head moving more than your neck can compensate for. The headrests are designed to prevent excessive backwards movement of your head to help your neck not get completely over-extended. Heads are actually quite heavy and there are a lot of very important things inside the neck that you don’t want getting fucked up be getting jerked around too much. The muscles in your neck can only do so much in a high-velocity situation like a crash.
Best advice I ever received posture wise was to pretend my nipples were Lazer guns and try to shoot people in the face. I like to say pewpew in my head
My nips are so pointy they practically shoot people in the face anyway.
Does anyone else have the opposite problem? I feel like head rests are* always too far back. If I place my head flat against them then more often than not I’m in an uncomfortable driving position because my neck is tilted back and up. I have to lean forward to drive most cars and it really annoys me.
Edit: I’m starting to think that a lot of you drive with the seat in an upright position. I sit at a slight recline because it’s easier on my back. Maybe that’s the problem.
Older cars were like that, but more recently usually have headsets that can adjust forward and back
Define “older”. I’ve never owned a car newer than 10 years old, and plenty of 10-15 year old cars have this problem.
Perhaps you live in a place with different vehicle safety requirements. In the US, uncomfortable forward-tilted headrests are mandated by the federal government.
I’m in the US.
No. That’s crazy talk.
Also office chairs with headrests, for whatever reason.
That’s to correct your posture, soon you’ll have a mighty hump!
It’s designed to be slightly uncomfortable to keep people from falling asleep at the wheel.
Now explain the passenger seat
It’s a seat for a person to sit next to the driver, but that’s not important right now.
I will never not upvote Airplane references.
I love you
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That’s what I believe it to be. I adjusted it to lean back and it was too comfortable to drive.
Agree.
Also people seem to think the head rests are there for you to constantly be resting your head on but they are head restraints.. They’re there so you don’t break your neck if you get in an accident - not to be comfy on a long drive.
I agree that the main reason for them is to prevent breaking your neck in an accident. But I have to ask… Why not make something that allows for both? Surely we can make something that helps ease our neck and shoulder muscles for long drives and prevent us from snapping our necks in a car accident from in front or back of us. No?
Those exist in fancier cars. Recently rented a jaguar f-type for a weekend getaway road trip and we noticed after an hour or 2 that the headrests actually were functional and comfy. Why the hell that shape isnt used in a normal seat i have no idea.
Idk I think because of how much force needs to be contained by the restraint it is rigid for a reason. My guess is there is an engineering reason based on physics.
Also you don’t want people to be falling asleep while driving (anymore than already happens) so maybe that’s a factor too? Like it’s not meant to be a pillow lol
This is the correct answer. It’s a safety device, not for resting your head. When the foam is not compressed it is not good neck alignment, but in an accident, your head slams into the foam and crushes it, that’s when your neck is in good alignment, preventing damage.
You shouldn’t be pushing against it, but you shouldn’t be that far away from it either to prevent whip lash.
Any normal headrest can be angled almost vertically so it’s not like OPs picture. I wonder if op just doesn’t realize you can tilt them further forward and reset them.
OP is making a joke, I’m sure they’re aware headrests move and none actually look like the post lol.
They are not joking, and some cars cannot adjust the angle or lateral position of the headrest without replacement. There are cars (like 2009 Lincoln MKZs, cough) that have headrests and seats that look and feel exactly like the image.
I owned one for about 3 years, and I still blame it for starting my weird neck/shoulder problems years later.
True some can’t adjust the angle, but obviously none of them protrude the ridiculous amount shown in the post.
I’m not sure how this isn’t a joke, clearly it’s a riff on how headrests can be weirdly uncomfortable at times. Anyways, if you’re chilling with your head against that the whole time you’re driving you’re not doing it right.
Never knew this before. Thank you!
It’s there for me to use. How I use it is up to me.
Ackshually…it’s there for complying with National Highway Traffic Safety Administration regulations and protecting auto manufacturers from legal liability. If you use the safety device incorrectly and suffer injury as a result, that’s entirely on you. Everyone is free win their Darwin award!
He said he is free to use it how he wants and you said he’s free to use it how he wants. Weird disparity in votes for that one.
Completely true. It’s also true your choice can be wrong.
I hate those long distance busses. If you sit up straight, the headrest is in your back. If you slouch down to get your head at the headrest so you can get some rest, the question becomes where to put your legs without pain and discomfort.
Its even worse when you’re taller than the designer expected and sitting up straight leaning back just means tilting my head backwards over the headrest.
Same thing on planes.
“They need something to rest their head on!” --> adds something that nobody asked for and nobody needs --> "I’m helping you :) "
Exactly! They are the absolute worst on long flights. I can manage the limited leg room. But why the fuck does my head need to be pushed 2 inches ahead of my back and shoulders? And why can’t those flaps on the side of the head rest be more substantial so you can rest your head to either side at least? My strategy has been to lift the headrest as high as it will go, and usually I am short enough for it to clear my head so I can have some semblance of comfort.
I am very short, and sit up rather straight. My head hits what should be the most comfortable parts of every kind of seating in the most uncomfortable way. This is an accurate representation of the sensation, when curved neck portion ends up at top of your skull, and doubly so, if it’s a bucket seat. Special cushions help, in certain vehicles, which can also alleviate the seatbelt going practically across your throat. Our old Outback is tolerable, which is lovely.
We have a couple IKEA Poang chairs at home, and I need to make pillow booster-seats for the damned things, or it’s just this image, lol
I just bought a 2024 Prius and as a short person I can attest that it’s the best short-people car I’ve ever had. While it does suffer from most of the issues you would assume from not testing with shorter dummies, those issues don’t really get in the way like they do in other cars. The seat and headrest feel great, the seatbelt is adjustable on the side so it won’t cut into your neck, and it’s very easy to get in and out of. 10/10 car for us short people.
I’m tall and long in the torso. The last serious car accident I was in my head bashed against the ceiling in a frightening way. Or, it would have been frightening if I had any memory of it. I had a brush burn on my forehead which could only have happened if my head was pushed way back from hitting the ceiling. Before you ask, I always wear a seatbelt.
Anyway, that’s not why I’m replying. I’m generally ok with car headrests, although I usually have to lean the seat back pretty far to just fit in.
I bought a new office chair. I specifically chose one without a headrest, but it showed up with one anyway. At it’s highest adjustment it sits right between my shoulders.
The world seems designed to fit such a narrow range of people.
Fact is, if you aren’t in the central bell curve, then you aren’t a profitable sector. Everything is tailored to the average these days in order to have the largest potential pool of customers from which to extract profit. If only one out of every ten people is tall enough to have problems with “regular sized” objects then that means only one out of every ten people are potential customers for your Big&Tall products. 99% of companies will elect to target the other 9/10 instead, even in a saturated market.
Yes those Poang chairs hurt my neck so bad, we had to get rid of it as it caused headaches whenever I sat in it. What about Airplane seats they also seem to push your neck forward in an in unergonomic way.
We have the Poangs as well, and I can’t recline in them. The only comfortable position is to rip the cushion out and put it on the floor, and sit on the floor. >.<
I have the seatbelt cutting my neck problem too - and I’m not exactly short. :/
Car head rests, couches, waiting room chairs. This world was not built for tall people
Or short people. Only the average thrive.
Short people have the ability to curl into any little space though.
