the new headrests in vehicles tend to project forward, nearly touching your head if you're bare headed. I've seen folks rotating the headrests around so they don't continually bump the back of their hardhats.
What's your take on this- any company/agency policies in regard to changing the headrest position?
> What's your take on this- any company/agency policies in regard to changing the headrest position?
I would think that modifying any safety devise would nullify any claim against the manufacturer.
Does your company/agency have a policy regarding the removal of a hardhat while inside the vehicle?
:snarky:
Radar
In a previous truck I had a spring loaded "clip" that held the hardhat to the roof of the truck. Handy but out of the way. I have never been on a job that required wearing a hardhat inside a vehicle that had a roof.
Andy
Your description falls short of my perception of those headrests. I didn't buy a recent car, that was what I wanted in all other respects, because when I (5'10") sat down bareheaded the thing pushed my head forward. Others were nearly as bad. What would someone 6'3" do?
I could not sit straight up and would have had to incline the seat back to be able to see out comfortably. And my back would have ached after a few hours in that curved position. I suppose I could have added a custom-fitted cushion to the back of the seat, but geez, do the current rules require you to be curled up while driving?
If you turn it around backwards the notches that hold it in place are not in the correct position. It will be held in place by gravity only and could become a projectile in a roll over. I would leave it be and take my hard hat off inside the truck.
Head Restraints and Hard Hats.
Technically speaking, it is not a "head rest", but a "head restraint".
The head restraint is supposed to help lessen the potential neck damage when the head snaps back during a collision (whiplash). Research shows that a space of four inches results in more injuries than if the head restraint is near the back of the head.
I'd guess that by having a hard hat on, it might actually interfere with the function of the head restraint.
Why in the world does any one need to have a hard hat on while driving in the company (agency) van?
On the 2006 Chevy Silverado that I currently drive, I took the headrest from a third row Suburban seat and put it in the drivers seat. As short as I am, the original headrest made it difficult trying to see behind me. That and the fact that my neck don't rotate as far as it did when I was young. I considered it a safety hazard.
In the Malibu we bought last year, we moved the back headrest to the front and put the front headrest in backwards in the back seats. Worked like a charm.
James
There no rule requiring hardhats in the vehicles...some people are just more... ehem... "hardcore" than others.
personally I like the headrest/restraint right back there close, been rear-ended a time or two and those inches hurt.
Ditto, the hardhat goes in the seat when inside a vehicle. Common sense dictates the roof of the vehicle is far more protective than the hardhat.
