New Beetle Back Seat Safety

[BeetleDragon737]

I'm a rather tall guy, and I decided to give the back seat of my beetle a try today to see how well tall passengers would fit back there. To my surprise, I found that as I leaned my head back, it did not rest on the headrest, but bonked the glass. I would have to be much shorter for my head to rest on the headrest rather than the glass.
My concern is this: if I get rear-ended with passengers in the back seat of my beetle, will they be seriously injured? Can someone's head go into/through car glass and come away unscathed?

 

[Lug_Nut]

Raise the headrest. Not that it will eliminate the risk of injury, but having that whiplash stop closer to their heads will be safer than using the glass for the same purpose.

 

[BeetleDragon737]

It's impossible to raise the back headrests in my beetle. I'm not sure if the '99 beetle is different from later years, but the headrest hits the glass before it could stay in an upraised position. It can only move up about an inch before it hits the glass too, so even if it could stay in that position, it wouldn't help at all.

Were there any tests done by VW to determine the safety of back-seat passengers in a rear-end collision?

I looked all over online, and it seems like no one else has this question. That baffles me. Have all beetle owners decided to treat their cars as 2-seaters?

 

[guyinabug]

My son rides in the back of mine, he has bonked his head on the rear window a couple times.

 

[Rdsoxx]

Im 6-2, and plenty of vehicles present the head room problem, especially high angle hatch backs.

If you are really concerned, just slouch a bit lower in whatever car you are in and raise the head rest if possible.

But in all reality, tall dudes sit up front!

 

[BeetleDragon737]

My friend, who is about average height, 5'10", hits his head on the glass too. It's like only very short people would be clear of the rear window.

I'm wondering if it's only my imagination that average-height people would be unsafe in the back seat... Would VW have been allowed to go ahead with a car that gives concussions to back-seat passengers in a mild rear-end collision?

 

[Rdsoxx]

My friend, who is about average height, 5'10", hits his head on the glass too. It's like only very short people would be clear of the rear window.

I'm wondering if it's only my imagination that average-height people would be unsafe in the back seat... Would VW have been allowed to go ahead with a car that gives concussions to back-seat passengers in a mild rear-end collision?

Well they did make the corrado

 

[jessabug]

Hubby and I are 5'6" and we would hit our heads on the hatch glass in my Beetle. It wasn't a car designed with rear passengers in mind for sure. We always had another car with 4-doors so that is what we would carry people in. It was a great car for just me to drive and commute in...can't beat the headroom in the front seat!