True or False: The head restraint on your seat only protects you in rear-end collisions.

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Head restraints are there to prevent whiplash by limiting how far the head can move backward during a crash. In a rear-end collision, the body is driven forward while the head tends to snap backward, so a properly positioned head restraint helps reduce that move backward and the neck injury that can follow. While rear-end crashes are the scenario most associated with this protection, the restraint also helps whenever the head is forced to move quickly backward or jerk due to sudden deceleration in other crashes. So saying it only protects in rear-end collisions isn’t accurate. To get the best protection, keep the top of the restraint level with your ears and as close to the back of your head as possible.