Car Crash Injuries: How to Avoid On the Road

No one is immune to car crash injuries.

Car crash injuries can happen to anyone, including you. It can even happen to drivers who are careful about their driving habits. The truth is, you cannot avoid car crash injuries ultimately especially if you're always on the road. However, you can still take the necessary steps on how to prevent car crash injuries in the near future.

The best way to avoid these car accidents is to avoid them completely. However, as explained before, the most careful drivers can also have accidents on the road. Here are some tips on how to avoid car crash injuries.

Wear Your Seatbelt

It's with good reason that traffic enforcers want you to wear your seatbelt all the time, whether you're the driver or a passenger. This is actually the best thing that you can do for a start to avoid car accidents effectively. A seatbelt off could cost you your life. Seatbelts are safety measures that can help reduce car accidents and deaths to a great extent. You cannot predict or even control whether you will have a car crash or not but at least you can protect yourself from the impact. Studies have shown that seatbelts can reduce car accidents by as much as 50%.

See our related article Medical Conditions in Car Crash Injuries: What to Expect

The proper way of using a seatbelt is to secure it low on your hips and make sure that the belt goes across the center of your chest. If you have children riding with you, make sure that they have also fastened their seatbelts.

Drive a Safe Car

Sometimes, car accidents happen because of cars that do not have any safety features. Drive a car that you consider the safest which you can also afford. It helps to purchase a car with more safety features that can protect you against road accidents. Car manufacturers usually update their products with the latest technology as they continue to make their cars safer year after year. Every year, they introduce new features such as automatic braking, lane departure warnings and other new safety features. They also perform car crash tests and improve their products based on their results.

In choosing a car, ask for crash test ratings, safety features and weigh in on the advantages. Also, make sure the car you are driving have standard and optional safety features that include airbags.

Arrange Your Things

You heard it right: arrange and store your things in the car properly, because these things are potential projectiles that can fly and injure you and your companions during a car crash. Examples of these objects that you need to store are laptops, bags, books, pens and sports equipment. These seemingly harmless things can actually be flung across your car at high speed and injure you seriously and your passengers. Even cans of food can be thrown at you in a forceful manner at some 60 miles per hour during a car crash. Travel light and remove all unnecessary objects from your car seats. You can stow your things in the trunk of the car, in the storage areas or in between seats. You can use a cargo cover or a net to store these items when you are driving SUVs and minivans. Pets and passengers not using seatbelts are also potential projectiles.

See our related article Common Car Crash Injuries Everyone Should Know About

Consider bringing a first aid kit or survival tool in your car. It's useful to carry a glass breaker or a seatbelt cutter to be prepared for accidents at all times. Be prepared to break open your window or cut your seatbelt if ever there's a car crash.

Slow Down

Speed is one of the major causes of car crashes. The faster you drive, the more impact you are going to experience when your car crashes. Whenever you are about to experience a car accident, try your best to slow down. However, there may also be situations in which you should speed out to get out of the way and keep yourself safe. Remain in control of the vehicle and steer it in the right direction. Avoid pressing the accelerator or braking until tires regain some traction. Have a firm grip on the wheel and keep calm.

During a car accident, you should know how to keep yourself safe and reduce the severity of the car crash. Keep these tips in mind and you'll be safe!