Inspired by "front airbags activated by rear bumper also" but I think this would work much better:
In the event of a rear end collision, the headrest should swell (as a balloon) and follow through the motion of the head, braking it as it whiplashes back-- theircompetitor, Jan 25 2004 "Better adjustments of head rests is necessary" http://www.swov.nl/...ts_is_necessary.htm [half, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 21 2004] aforementioned airbag idea http://www.halfbake...ear_20bumper_20also [half, Oct 04 2004] Active Headrest by Mazda http://www.mazda.co...w/pdf/en/safety.pdfSee page 3, under 'Rear-end collision prediction' [Freefall, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 21 2004] thanks, half. One of the things I also like about this is that it can be used as evidence in lawsuits, i.e. if the headrest did not deploy, the injury may not be as severe as all that-- theircompetitor, Jan 25 2004 Excellent inventing, tc. This should definitley be baked one day.
Another option for achieving similar results is to remove the air bag altogether and in its place deploy a sufficient volume of compressed marshmallow paste, maybe with a little added NO2 propellant.-- Tiger Lily, Jan 25 2004 random, halfbakery