Doctors of chiropractic want to help their patients heal, but they would obviously not wish injury upon anyone in the first place. This is very true when talking about automobile accidents, because whiplash associated disorders (wad) can linger for years after, and greatly impact a person’s life and daily activities. We are going to be going over some ways to possibly prevent an accident and injuries like these from happening.
First and foremost, do not have any distractions while driving. This includes things like texting and driving, messing with the radio, eating, reading, talking to other passengers, drunk driving, and driving while tired. There was a study done that showed even using hands free devices still posed as a dangerous distraction to drivers!
To stay safe on the road, try things like taking breaks if going long distance, keeping your eyes moving (the three second rule), driving the speed limit, driving under the speed limit in bad weather conditions, following caution signs, and keeping your car services up to date. If you get caught with not enough air in your tires or if you are on the highway and your car suddenly gives out, it could result in a serious, possibly life threatening accident.
Even if you follow all these precautions, it is not always possible to stop yourself from getting in an accident, but there are measures that you can take to keep yourself protected in those circumstances. Making sure you always wear a seatbelt and checking that your headrest is at its proper height could significantly impact the seriousness of your injuries in an accident.
We have found some data from automobile manufacturers that are constantly making sure that safety improvements are taking place. Some data taken between the years of 1995 to 2016 supports that vehicle safety design improvements reduced the amount of rollover crashes from 7% to 3.5% when looking at 1995-1999 vs. 2010-2016 model year vehicles, respectively. In 1997, General Motors (GM) came out with high retention seats in their new model cars, SUVs, vans, and light trucks. A recent study compared the 1991 to 2000 Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) data to the 2001-2008 data to assess the influence of high retention seats. The data showed that in rear impacts, high retention seats lowered the mortality risk from 27.1% to 16.6% and the risk of serious injury by 70.2%.
Remember that if you are ever involved in any sort of car accident that it is important to visit your local chiropractor to make sure that any injuries are treated as soon as possible to lessen the chance of future issues that could be more serious than now. We would rather prevent an accident, but if you are involved in one, we are here for you.
If you are suffering from pain, do not hesitate in contacting us today. We are walk in friendly and would love to help you out of pain. Call today (509) 327-4049 or simply walk in and we will help you.
