Can Safety Features Hurt You During a Car Accident?

Can safety features hurt you in a car accident? Safety features such as seat belts, airbags, modern materials, and design continue to make cars and trucks safer each year. Even so, safety technology advances do occasionally cause injuries in a car crash while preventing more serious injuries.

Today, government regulations require car manufacturers to meet stringent safety standards. So what do you do if you are involved in a car crash and your vehicle’s safety features contribute to your injuries?

After an accident, you should first seek medical attention from County Line Chiropractic Medical & Rehab Centers.

When Car Safety Features Hurt

Among the most-used vehicle safety features are seatbelts. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), seatbelts save nearly 15,000 lives a year.

While seatbelts save lives when worn correctly, they have also been shown to cause injuries like broken bones, organ damage, and contusions due to the tightening that occurs from the force of the accident.

When worn incorrectly, a seat belt can cause even more severe injuries, including death. Seat belts should be worn correctly across the shoulder and chest with little slack, as well as across the lap, low on your hips, and you should always sit upright. Children under 12 should be seated in the rear seat, with appropriate child-safe seats or seat belts.

If you or your child have been injured by a seatbelt during an auto accident, contact County Line Chiropractic today to schedule an appointment.

Another common safety feature is the airbag. Patented in 1953, airbags are now a safety standard. Like the seatbelt, there is no doubt that airbags save lives, thousands of them annually, by keeping the driver and passengers from colliding with the steering wheel, dashboard, windshield, vehicle frame, or each other.

Problems can arise due to the rapid deployment of airbags, which save lives but can also result in injuries, including:

• Concussions
• Whiplash
• Internal bleeding
• Fractures
• Brain injuries
• Burns
• Sprains
• Cuts to the face, hands, or wrists
• Death (in extreme cases)

The latest technology includes driver-assist features which are designed to enhance driving by exerting control over the vehicle when reacting to hazards on the road. While these features come with a host of names, they typically include detection and warning systems and braking systems.

While contributing to vehicle safety, they can also contribute to unintended hazards such as triggering a driver to overcorrect when the feature kicks in or causing a driver to become too dependent on the feature.

Are you experiencing pain due to injuries caused by a vehicle’s safety features? The professionals at County Line Chiropractic can diagnose and treat many injuries.

Benefits of Car Safety Features

While they may cause injuries, you cannot deny that seat belts, airbags, and other vehicle safety features save countless lives every year. Here are some sobering statistics from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS):

• For drivers and front-seat passengers, using a lap and shoulder belt reduces the risk of dying by 60% in an SUV, van, or pickup and by 45% in a car.
• In a frontal crash, an unbelted rear-seat passenger sitting behind a belted driver increases the risk of fatality for the driver by 137% compared with a belted rear seat passenger.
• Front airbags reduce driver fatalities in frontal crashes by 29% and fatalities of front-seat passengers age 13 and older by 32%.
• Side airbags that protect the head reduce a car driver’s risk of death in driver-side crashes by 37% and an SUV driver’s risk by 52%.

After A Car Accident

If you have been involved in a car accident, simple or severe, call on the team at County Line Chiropractic Medical and Rehab Centers. At County Line Chiro, you will find professional caring chiropractors – skilled in treating your car accident-related injuries. You will receive a comprehensive examination, an accurate diagnosis, and a personalized treatment plan to relieve your pain and return you to health and wellness. 

The well-qualified, caring If you have been involved in a car accident, simple or severe, call on the team at County Line Chiropractic and Rehab Centers. The team ready to help you or your loved one if you have been hurt in a car accident. Call today to get the relief and rehab you need to alleviate your pain and restore your health. 

Contact Our Fort Lauderdale & Miami Car Accident Doctors

If you have been involved in a car accident, call the team at County Line Chiropractic Medical & Rehab Centers. At County Line Chiro, you will find professional caring chiropractors who are skilled in treating car accident-related injuries. You will receive a comprehensive examination, an accurate diagnosis, and a personalized treatment plan to relieve your pain and return you to health and wellness.

Find your nearest location (we have 6 convenient South Florida locations) and call today to get the relief and rehab you need to alleviate your pain and restore your health.