Reducing Severity Of Injuries In Car Accidents

Have you ever wondered why some people walk away from serious accidents with nothing but scratches while others experience serious injuries from fender benders? While luck may play a part in it, there are also things you can do to reduce the severity of an accident. Here are some of those things:

Drive At a Reasonable Speed

The momentum of the collision is one of the factors that determine the severity of the accident. A low momentum leads to a less severe accident. The momentum is a factor of the respective weights of the cars involved in the collision, as well as their respective speeds. Do your best to obey the speed limits whenever you are driving because they have been deemed safe for those specific locations. Therefore, don't over speed if you want to avoid extremely severe accidents. This is a good reason why drag racing is such a dangerous "sport" since the vehicles involved try to outdo each other in speed.

Drive a Car with a Good Safety Rating

Cars have different safety ratings; some are inherently safer than others. You can walk away from a crash with relatively minor injuries if you were driving a safe car than if you were driving an unsafe car. For example, some cars' roofs easily crush and crumble when they roll over in crashes while others remain intact. The insurance institute for highway safety (IIHS) organization provides a safety rating of different cars; use the ratings to identify a safe car.

Always Wear a Seatbelt

The idea that seatbelts save lives and reduce the injuries sustained in car accidents isn't a myth; it is the truth. More than half of drivers in the age range of 20 to 44 years who die in car crashes turn out not to have been wearing seatbelts at the times of the crashes. There are several reasons for this. For example, wearing a seatbelt will prevent you from flying through the windscreen in the case of a crash. It also ensures that the airbag hits you at a correct distance and doesn't hurt you too much.

Take Evasive Actions When an Accident Is Inevitable

Lastly, the nature of evasive actions you take in case a crash is inevitable, and how fast you take them, also determines the severity of the eventual crash. For example, if you are faced with a head-on-collision, it is better to drive to the right and crash into the ditches or shoulders (that are stationary) than to crash into the oncoming car.

Hopefully, the above tips will help you stay safe on the road. Remember that more you keep a clean driving record, the more you will be able to enjoy low auto insurance rates. Contact a company like Ahlquist Insurance for more information. 

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