Rear-End Collisions,
Crumple Zones, and Injuries.
For the purposes of
simplicity, I'd rather skip over the details of Newton's laws of motion and try
my hand at quickly explaining with the use of a few images and facts, why
its better to be fully stopped when someone rear-ends your car, rather than
rolling forward.
One has to be aware of
the way modern vehicles are manufactured. They are made much different
than the way they used to be made in the early days. Nowadays, and
actually for the last several decades, automobiles are made with crumple zones.
A crumple zone is part of the structure of vehicles that simply allows
the metal to deform and bend. The purpose of these crumple zones are to
absorb energy from the impact. To give you an example of the importance
of a crumple zone in a vehicle, just think; if you for example, fall from a roof and land
on a concrete floor, the chance of injury to your body would be much greater
than if you fell from the same roof and landed on, say a very thick mattress.
This is due to the ability of the mattress to slow your body down by
absorbing the energy of your falling body.
Look at the way the cars
are deformed and will absorb the energy of the collision.
Here is another car.
Look at the way the hood folds up and practically acts like an
accordion. Again, its designed to absorb energy.
Here is a diagram of a
car hitting a fixed object. The crumple zones in a car are located in both
the front and the back.
Now if you try to relate
this concept to the impact of a car collision, it will begin to make sense why
it is advantageous (in most cases) for your car to be completely
stopped if you get rear ended. It is difficult for some people to get
this concept. The mathematical brain is thinking mathematics. "Okay,
if I am traveling forward at about 10 miles per hour and get hit in the back by
someone who is traveling at 20 miles per hour, you simply subtract 10 mph from
20 mph to get a net force on the back of my car of only 10 mph." The
thought process is 20 mph-10 mph = 10 mph impact which always sounds better
than getting hit at 20 mph. The math is correct. You are only being
hit at 10 mph. But, in terms of shock and impact to the body, including
the neck and head, during the rear end collision and whiplash, you are probably better to be standing
still with your foot on the brake when you are hit from behind. "But wait, you just told me a 10
mph hit is better than a 20 mph rear end hit?" Here is the confusion. Read on.
Okay, back to the
crumple zones. Remember, the crumple zones are designed to absorb energy.
They are designed to absorb energy that that would normally get
transferred to the occupants of the vehicle. So, here are both
scenarios; the first scenario is car rolling and second is car completely
stopped:
Scenario 1. You are
rolling forward 10 mph, you get hit from the back, your car's crumple
zones do NOT have the chance or ability to fully absorb the impact of the other
car hitting you. Your car lunges forward from the impact, and your neck
and head flies back in the seat as a result of the other car hitting you.
Scenario 2. Your car is
completely stopped, foot on the brake. You are going 0 mph, and you get
hit at 20 mph. In this case, the crumple zones have a chance to do their
job, which is to absorb the impact of the collision and reduce the forces upon
the occupants of the vehicle getting hit. Your car will (generally) not
lunge forward as much if you were already rolling forward.
The other way I can
explain this to you is for you to just look at the way race cars are made.
Have you ever seen a race car going 150+ mph that crashes into a wall or
another car? What does it do? It comes apart. Parts fly
everywhere, including the wheels, which fly everywhere. The purpose here
is the same thing. It's to absorb energy so that the driver of the car
gets less of a shock to his body. Of course, this is just
a very simple way for me to explain how these car accident impacts cause injuries, and how the relative
motion of the car paradoxically affects the injuries to the passengers.
I say, paradoxically, because it goes against ones rational thinking.
Just remember, crumple zones are your friend.
A piece of advice to you: If you think you are about to get get rear ended, good advice would be to firmly plant your foot on the brake and put your head against the head rest. Let the cars absorb the impact, not your neck! Also, call a chiropractor right away.
A piece of advice to you: If you think you are about to get get rear ended, good advice would be to firmly plant your foot on the brake and put your head against the head rest. Let the cars absorb the impact, not your neck! Also, call a chiropractor right away.
I treat these injuries
all the time. My address is 3161 Dykes Road in Miramar Florida. 33027. Dr. Alan Himmel. My Telephone Numbers are: 954-659-8600 and 305-979-5549. My Web address is: www.PembrokePines-Chiropractor.com
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