According to a new report from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), a new rear-passenger restraint system is needed in most vehicles.

The IIHS report examined data of 117 head-on collisions where seatbelt-wearing backseat passengers were seriously injured or killed. The research suggests that backseat restraint technology has not been developed like front seat restraints, and upgraded design and safety equipment in the backseat might improve crash survivability. The long-held belief that the backseat is safer than the front seat in a head-on collision is being called into question, according to the report.

For example, chest injuries sustained in crashes that are caused by the restraint force of the seatbelt might have been avoidable had the belts been equipped with force limiters, which allow slack from the seatbelt when a force increases, according to the report.

The IIHS recommends that car makers might consider fixes like including backseat airbags that deploy from the vehicle’s ceiling. Equipment such as front and side airbags and force limiters have become standard in the front seats of most cars.

"We're confident that vehicle manufacturers can find a way to solve this puzzle in the back seat just as they were able to do in the front," said David Harkey, president of IIHS.