Traditionally, people consider the back seat of a car to be safer than the front. A lot of it just has to do with proximity. In a crash, someone who is farther from the impact zone likely won’t experience the same level of injury since energy dissipates before reaching them. Damage can also be more severe up front, as that portion of the car is crushed and the back stays intact.
However, more recent reports show that this isn’t always true anymore. The back seat may be safer for children — since the front-seat airbags are a risk to them — but it is not inherently safer for everyone, some experts argue. Why have things changed?
Technology was focused on the front
A big part of the reason is just that safety technology, which has increased massively over the years, has often focused on the front seat. Companies knew that the back seat is often unoccupied, so they knew they could save the most lives by creating better safety systems upfront. Examples include crumple zones, airbags and more.
In fact, one researcher went so far as to point out that crash test dummies only tend to sit in the front. This clearly shows a bias when testing new safety equipment. While that doesn’t mean the back seat is now more dangerous than it was in the past, it has been more stagnant, whereas the front has actively gotten much safer in the last few decades.
Of course, you can get seriously injured in any vehicle when another driver causes a crash. If this happens, be sure you know how to seek compensation for your injuries and other losses. You shouldn’t be responsible for another driver’s mistakes.