Nobody wants to be in an Atlanta auto accident. Yet, accidents happen. Each minute of the day, somebody, somewhere, is in a car crash. That person’s chances of surviving the crash, or even of avoiding injury, may be partly determined by the safety features present in their car. In this article, Peachtree accident injury lawyer Shane Smith describes how safety features protect your body in a Georgia car crash.
When you are driving in your car, your body is moving at the same speed as your vehicle. In downtown Atlanta, your speed might be about 35 miles an hour. The movement gives your body a certain amount of kinetic injury, the energy of motion. When your body is stopped by an Atlanta car wreck, your kinetic energy suddenly drops to zero. The energy doesn’t go away; it is just converted into another type of energy.
If this drop in energy happens quickly, the energy becomes dispersed through your body causing injury. The safety features in your car help to slow down the drop in energy and direct the energy into the car rather than your body. This prevents injury.
The first step to preventing a sudden drop in kinetic energy occurs in your seat belts. As soon as your car collides with another object, the seat belt pretensioners in your car tighten up your seat belt. This allows the seat belt to absorb some of your energy. If too much energy gets absorbed, it could cause injury. So, seat belts have force limiters that make sure the amount of force or energy in the seat belt doesn’t get too high.
The next layer of protection is your airbag. The airbag is designed to be soft, so it slows you down rather than suddenly stopping your forward motion. This allows some of your kinetic energy to be transferred to the airbag. The newest “smart” airbags can calculate the best speed and pressure at which to deploy given your weight, seating positions and the intensity of a crash. However, airbags can only perform as intended if the occupant is wearing their seat belt.
Seat belts and air bags can’t prevent every injury, but they do dramatically improve the odds of surviving a Georgia traffic accident. If you or a loved one has been injured in an Atlanta car crash, you may be eligible for compensation for your injuries, pain and suffering, and lost wages. To learn more, request a free copy of Shane Smith’s book, 10 Mistakes That Can Ruin Your Georgia Wreck Case. If you would like to discuss your case with a Peachtree accident injury lawyer, contact Shane Smith Law at (980) 246-2656.