Injuries are common during an automobile accident; however, there are different levels of severity to all injuries sustained. These injuries can range from a slight bruise to broken bones or severe brain damage. If you are a victim of an automobile accident and you suffer any type of injury, it is always a wise decision to consult with an experienced personal injury attorney who can advise you of your rights and benefits and can assist you throughout your treatment process.
Each accident is different, and no two injuries are the same. In order to prevent a serious injury, drivers should always obey the speed limit. This is a good way to avoid causing an accident and causing injuries to yourself or someone else. By driving the speed limit, you are able to stop your vehicle in time if someone pulls out in front of you or merges into your lane or stops suddenly in front of you. Maintaining a safe distance from the vehicle in front of you also helps you to stop and avoid a rear end collision. You should always maintain a distance of two to three car lengths from the vehicle in front of you. If you are too close to the vehicle in front of you and they slam on their breaks unexpectedly, you could rear end that vehicle and you will be deemed at fault for the accident for not maintaining a safe distance. If you rear end the vehicle in front of you, the occupants could suffer an array of injuries, but the most common rear end accident injury is whiplash. You sustain whiplash when your neck is thrown forward and then backwards very quickly in a whipping motion. Sometimes during whiplash, you can also slam your head into the steering wheel, dashboard, or seat in front of you. Whiplash type injuries can often also cause disc displacement in your spine. If this happens, you can end up with bulging or herniated discs which typically require surgical intervention to fix. This can be avoided by maintaining a safe distance.
In order to prevent serious injuries if you are involved in an auto accident, you should always wear your seatbelt. In most states, it is the law to wear your seatbelt while driving and you can be ticketed by the police if you are not wearing your seatbelt. If you are involved in a serious accident and you are not wearing your seatbelt, your body can be thrown around your vehicle and even ejected from the vehicle altogether. If you are ejected from the vehicle, this can cause serious and permanent injuries in the form of broken bones, contusions, brain damage and even death. A seatbelt is the number one life saving device during an auto accident. Air bags are also installed on a newer model vehicles to protect the driver and passengers due to an accident. There are typically airbags installed in the steering wheel, dashboard, and the sides of the vehicles to prevent any body parts from hitting the vehicle interior. Air bags can also leave burn marks and bruises, but they are an important life saving and injury prevention tool. Some older model vehicles do not have air bags installed or only installed in the steering wheel which do no good to prevent injury to any passengers in the vehicle. If you have children in your vehicle, you should never drive without buckling them into a child restraint seat which should be properly installed in your vehicle to prevent any injuries to young children who are too small for a regular seat belt. Young children not bucked into a child restraint seat can sustain significant injuries or even death.
Adjusting your mirrors before driving is a must. You should always make sure you can see out of all mirrors and windows of your vehicle at all times. Most side mirrors are operated by a button on the driver’s side door which can allow you to easily adjust the mirrors as needed. You should also always be able to see out of your rearview mirror as this will allow you to see any vehicles approaching or passing you at any given time. Failure to see behind you can result in multiple types of different accidents. The position of your steering wheel is also very important as you have to be able to have a good grip on the wheel and make sure you can turn it properly to avoid any collisions.
Paying proper attention to the road and your surroundings is critical when driving. You must always watch out for other vehicles on the road as well as debris and road hazards such as potholes or construction. If you do not pay attention to what is going on around you, you are more likely to cause a collision. You should always keep your eye on the road and never text while driving. If you must make a phone call, you should pull over to the side of the road or into the nearest parking lot or make use of the automated phone assistant if your vehicle is equipped with one. You should never take your hands off the steering wheel while your vehicle is in operation and you should never turn around to deal with a fussy child or pet in the back seat. If you take your eyes off the road and traffic even for a second, you could miss a vehicle merging into your lane, a pedestrian walking across the road or an animal darting out in front of you. If you have children in your vehicle that need your attention, wait until you are completely stopped at a red light or pull over to assist them.
There are so many ways accidents can happen, but you can avoid the majority of them by paying attention to what you are doing while you are driving and maintain a safe speed and distance. If you do this, your chances of causing an accident are severely diminished. Unfortunately, accidents happen, and you can’t always avoid them, especially when other drivers are not paying attention, but you can protect yourself as much as possible by staying alert to your surroundings and making sure your vehicle is as safe as possible.
