The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has been working on the next iteration of whiplash evaluation since 2022. This was when the Rear Impact Protocol test program was concluded due to the industry achieving good results virtually across the board. This updated protocol includes several new metrics including pelvis displacement and neck moment/bending force. In addition to the current pulse, IIHS has also incorporated an additional sled pulse with the new protocol simulating crash speeds of 20 and 30 mph. IIHS released this video to explain further the effort undertaken with the new whiplash test.

Background

Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 202a – Head Restraints and Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) Head Restraint Dynamic Protocol are industry-standard whiplash tests. Although different in many ways procedurally, both test protocols set forth criteria pertaining to the dimensional and safety requirements for head restraints in low-speed rear crashes involving passenger vehicles, multipurpose vehicles, trucks, and buses. Starting with the original FMVSS 202 standard in 1969, head restraint development around occupant protection in whiplash test scenarios has reached high performance levels in most vehicle types over the last 50+ years. In 2022, IIHS discontinued the testing since all recent testing had resulted in good or higher ratings for every vehicle tested. In December 2025, IIHS published an updated protocol intended to improve the evaluation of seats and head restraints in whiplash crash scenarios.

Whiplash Experience

MGA’s facility in Troy, Michigan has been conducting whiplash testing for over 20 years. Early testing began with OEMs responding to the initial IIHS protocol for whiplash. The goal of evaluating current designs and then to validate additional design changes was critical to gaining an understanding of the new whiplash requirements. Soon after, seating suppliers began developmental testing to evaluate new head restraint designs. Beyond the standard instrumentation of the BioRID I, MGA offers additional instrumentation with the dummy, on the seat, and high-speed video analysis. The additional data offered better analysis of the biomechanics of the dummy and energy management properties of the seat.

The positioning of the BioRID II is key in test execution. MGA’s procedures and training have been developed and refined over the years. Establishing tolerances of seat measurements using the SAE J826 H-Point machine that is tighter than industry standards ensure test repeatability. There are multiple variables in a seat’s design that can affect the test. The tightening of tolerances for test execution enables MGA to minimize outside variables.

MGA currently has three BioRID II ATDs in house. The implementation of scheduled calibration ensures that MGA always has availability for testing, Additionally, MGA has developed a state-of-the-art sled that was designed specifically for whiplash evaluation.   This sled is solely used for FMVSS and IIHS protocols.

The New Protocol

The updated IIHS protocol Whiplash Prevention Evaluation Test Protocol (Version I, December 2025) can be found here. Per the IIHS data release video, the intention of the updated protocol was to more closely align the whiplash component testing to the data seen in real-world crashes. Every aspect of the old protocol was evaluated for improvement. The following table illustrates the differences between the original IIHS protocol and the newest version.

Upcoming Webinar

MGA will be hosting a webinar in the next month, which will provide an overview of the new IIHS whiplash protocol. The webinar will consist of a short presentation followed by a Q&A session. If you are interested in participating in the webinar, please complete this form.

‍