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Safety
Hazards in Your Car – Minor Corrections Can
Avert Disaster
The
safety of cars has steadily improved over the years.
We have air bags, anti-lock brakes, and a myriad
of other safety features, all designed to prevent
accidents or to lesson their impact. But what about “hidden” hazards?
Two of the biggest dangers are unsecured cargo and
rear-seat passengers being unbuckled. Many of us
consider both of these “acceptable” dangers,
in that we don’t really perceive them as being
dangers at all. But that is incorrect.
Unsecured
Cargo
With
the increase in space available in SUVs and other
cars, people have taken the opportunity to load more
and more into the storage area. But most of us don’t
think twice about securing the cargo before we drive.
There have been numerous injuries involving “projectiles” where
cargo from the back of the car (as heavy as a metal
toolbox or as light as a can of beans) flew forward
during impact, hitting the driver or passenger and
seriously injuring him or her, or, in some cases, causing
death.
Rear
Passengers Unbuckled
For most of us, buckling up is second nature, and
we do it automatically. Unfortunately, many people
still do not realize that it is just as important to
use seat belts for the passengers in the rear. You
may remember the days of rollicking around in the back
seat while your parents drove, but the practice was
not safe then, and now, with ever more cars on the
road and the increase in speed, it is even less so.
Not only is the unbuckled rear passenger at risk during
impact, but the passenger in the front seat had an
increased risk of injury and death as well. In a head-on
collision where you are going 35 miles per hour, a
one-pound can of beans flying from the back seat to
the front contains 100 pounds of force. This is more
than enough to fracture a human skull. Imagine then,
what the force is when the object hurled weighs 150
pounds or more (as could be the case with a person)
and the speed at the time of collision is closer to
50 or 60 miles per hour--the results are deadly.
What
Should You Do?
There are simple steps you can take which greatly
reduce the chance of serious injury or death during
a collision.
- First,
secure cargo. Use storage spaces for items in the
front seat and keep the dashboard clear. In
a minivan or SUV, the safest way to secure cargo is
to purchase a cargo barrier that bolts into the frame
of your car. Never pile items above the level of the
back seat (where they can very easily slide forward).
Use safety features like grocery bag hooks, tie-down
anchors and other compartments. If you’re going
on a long trip, secure large, heavy storage containers
with rope or cargo straps. Never let children hold
a television or boom box on their laps. Instead, make
sure they are secure, either bolted into place or stored
in a pocket or other cargo holder.
- Second,
EVERYONE buckle up. That means everyone, including
rear seat passengers. Why haven’t people
realized that this is important? Perhaps because it
has not been publicized the way buckling up for the
drivers and others in the front seat has been. Also,
because it is not illegal in most states for a rear
passenger to be unbuckled, many people think, “well,
if it were dangerous, it would be illegal” --
but we all know this is not valid reasoning.
Parachute jumping, tobacco use, and coal mining
come to mind--these
all may be dangerous, yet they are all legal activities.
These
simple steps can save you from injury and even death
in the event of an accident. Don’t let
a moment’s convenience cost you, or someone you
love, his life. *
* Information taken from Reader’s
Digest, January, 2003 issue.
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