Where should the headrest be positioned? I asked the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) about a quote I found at Edmonds.com:
Just to be sure that comes from the NHTSA, I sent an email to them after not being able to find their original statement online. As it turns out, their original pdf document is technical, besides being 45 pages long. But the only issue they have with what Edmonds.com states above is in regards to how high the headrest is to be positioned, not how far forward or back it’s to be placed.
My recommendation is that you position your headrest so that it’s close enough to protect you in a rear-end accident, but not so close that it hampers any desire you may have to have your head over your shoulders. Of course, the exact height of the head restraint that’s best for you will also depend on the contour of the front of the headrest in where it sits against the back of your head.
Here’s the email correspondence mentioned above I had with NHTSA. (I’m not too sure about how he thinks the document he refers to is “written in plain English and should be understandable to laymen.”) NHTSA email