While wearing a seatbelt is an important car safety practice that is responsible for saving countless lives, seat belts aren’t able to prevent all accident injuries.
In fact, even a low speed car accident in Jonesboro at 15 mph or under can produce enough energy to result in whiplash.
Unfortunately, wearing a seatbelt won’t impact if you suffer from whiplash, although without proper restraint you may also suffer from a head injury after striking the windshield or steering wheel.
Research has suggested that a car collision at 8 mph produces 2-Gs of force acceleration of the vehicle and 5-Gs of force acceleration of the driver’s of the head. This movement is forceful and unnatural, and it stretches the ligaments and muscles of the neck to the point of potential tearing.
The discs found between the vertebrae may also tear, rupture, or bulge, and this can seriously limit the patient’s range of motion. Many people make the mistake of believing that a severe neck injury can only occur from a high-speed collision, but the truth is that maximum hyperextension of the spine will actually result from a slow or moderate speed accident.
Car manufacturers have debated what they can do to provide maximum occupant protection while minimizing vehicle damage during a collision. Unfortunately, seat belts do very little to deter the forward motion of the body in a rear-end collision, and the shoulder harness increases the force that needs to be absorbed by the neck and head.
Headrests are extremely important for protection during rear-end collisions, but if the headrest sits too low, the head may be able to roll over the top of it, resulting in even more hyperextension. Researchers are currently reviewing seat belt stiffness to see if this factor may also impact the extent of injury that occupants experience during rear-end collision.