Judgments of Risk Associated with Riding with a Reclined Seat in an Automobile

Abstract

This study assesses judgments of automobile passengers regarding risk associated with reclined seats. One hundred subjects exiting from state license renewal offices were first shown three photographs of a male sitting inside an automobile with the seat back positioned at different angles and asked to rank order the photographs from “most safe” to “least safe” and explain their ranking. Subjects were then presented with two photographs (upright and fully reclined) and asked which position had a reduced risk of serious injury to the abdomen or neck that could be caused by sliding under the safety belts in a frontal collision. In both the ranking and the forced-choice tasks, all but one of the subjects reported it is safer to have the seat back in a more upright position than in a fully-reclined position. Subjects in this study clearly recognized that sitting upright is safer than sitting fully reclined.