What Is Whiplash?

Whiplash is a type of injury that commonly occurs in certain types of car crashes. The most common type of car accident that may cause whiplash is a rear-end collision. When a vehicle is traveling slower than a vehicle that is approaching from behind or is at a standstill when it is struck, an occupant of the front vehicle may suffer whiplash.

Whiplash includes potential injuries to the neck, shoulders, head, ligaments, muscles, and bones. When a rear vehicle collides into a front vehicle, a front vehicle’s car occupants may have their heads and necks violently propelled forward because of the physical forces of the collision. As the forces subside, their heads and necks may be thrown backward, causing them to be hyperextended. This violent front-to-back movement can cause multiple injuries to the muscles, ligaments, and bones of the neck and shoulders. While some people might recover from whiplash in a matter of weeks, others may face complications and chronic symptoms that can continue for months or years and that impact their ability to work and to enjoy life.

Complications of Whiplash

The Mayo Clinic reports that the common symptoms of whiplash may develop within 24 hours, but it may also take longer for them to appear. These symptoms include neck pain that worsens when people move their necks or turn their heads, reduced the range of motion of the neck, headaches, shoulder and arm pain, tingling in the arms, dizziness, and fatigue. People who suffer severe whiplash injuries may suffer the following complications:

• Chronic, severe headaches
• Pain radiating from the neck and shoulders into the arms
• Chronic, severe neck pain

Complications from whiplash can cause ongoing problems and interfere with the victims’ ability to function, making it crucial for people to get treatment.

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Why Photos Are Important

After an accident, it is common for people to be in states of shock. They might feel confused and be unclear about exactly what happened. Pictures provide crucial information about what caused the accident that people might otherwise fail to notice or forget. Accident reconstructionists can use photographs to determine the relative positions of the vehicles, their speeds, and other contributing factors such as weather conditions or road conditions. This type of information can help present a clear picture of what happened and the liability of the responsible party or parties.

When and How to Take Photos

People who are injured in accidents that they believe were the fault of the other drivers should always try to take pictures immediately after the accidents. If they are unable to do so themselves, they should ask someone else to take photographs for them. The pictures can be taken with a camera that is kept in the car or with a smartphone. The photographs should be taken before either vehicle is moved. People should take photographs of the positions of the cars and the damage to each. They should also take photographs of the other vehicle’s license plate. After getting these pictures, people should take wider pictures of the scene, including any road debris, skid marks, weather, nearby traffic control devices, or speed limit signs. Taking as many pictures as possible is a good idea.

In addition to taking pictures of the accident scene, people should also take photographs of their injuries. This can help to show the link between the accident and the injuries in case the insurance company attempts to blame the injuries on some intervening cause. People should also try to get the names and contact information of any witnesses who saw the accident so they can be contacted later. Having photographs and witness statements may help people succeed in subsequent claims with the insurance companies.

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Fault When Traffic Lights Cause Accidents

In most car accidents, one or both of the drivers are at fault. When a defective traffic light contributes to the cause of an accident, proving liability may be more difficult. One of the drivers may be partly at fault, but the defective light may also have contributed to the accident. For example, if a light shows green in two perpendicular directions at the same time and a speeding driver strikes someone else who is continuing through the intersection, the driver who was speeding may be partly to blame for the accident, but the malfunctioning light also contributed. This might mean that a resulting claim might exist against both the speeding driver as well as the municipality, manufacturer, and others. An accident reconstruction expert may help by reconstructing what occurred at the accident scene to show that the traffic light malfunctioned and led to the accident.

Municipalities may be liable if the defect has existed for a long enough period of time that it should have reasonably been discovered and they failed to repair it. In one 2013 case in Detroit involving a motorcyclist who was killed after a traffic light malfunctioned, the neighbors reported that the light had been defective for a long time. The city had failed to respond to their complaints about the light despite the numerous reports.

In a case in which there is a clear record of numerous reports to a city about defective or malfunctioning traffic lights, but nothing was done, the city may be liable to pay damages to the victims of accidents that result.

Other types of evidence that might help claims involving defective traffic lights include witnesses who saw the accidents happen and camera footage if it is available. Statements from people who have filed complaints about the lights and city records of complaints may also be important for proving a claim.

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Impact of Loud Music

Researchers found that listening to music can cause teenage drivers to drive inattentively in a study that was conducted at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Israel. In the study, the researchers recruited 85 teen drivers who were ages 17 and 18 to drive specially wired cars along 40-minute routes with driving instructors. During some of the drives, the teens either didn’t listen to music or listened to soundtracks that had been created by the researchers to encourage safe driving. In two of the drives, the teens were told to bring their own playlists of music from home to listen to while they drove.

While the teens reported that they felt better when they drove while listening to their own music, they exhibited multiple problematic driving behaviors. They turned the volume up much higher when they listened to their own music. The driving instructors noted that the teens were likelier to weave in traffic, speed, and drive aggressively when they were listening to their own music. All of the drivers committed three or more driving errors when they listened to their own music at high volumes. The researchers noted that teen drivers are less able to process auditory and visual information simultaneously and that listening to music can be distracting to them.

More experienced drivers may not be as distracted by listening to music when they drive. A study demonstrated that older drivers who listen to music while they drive may actually display improved driving behaviors. The researchers in that study posited that drivers might need some form of stimulus while they drive to prevent boredom.

While the volume, tempo, and type of music can impact driver response times, distraction levels, and overall performance, it is still unclear which factors affect driving the most.

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Hit-and-Run Death Rates

According to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, deaths in hit-and-run accidents have increased by 62 percent since 2009. In 2016, 2,049 people in the U.S. were killed in hit-and-run accidents, and 68 percent of the deaths involved pedestrians or cyclists. During the same time period, more people are choosing to ride their bicycles or to walk to work.

When Hit-and-Run Accidents Occur

Hit-and-run accidents are likelier to happen at night or in areas where the drivers are less likely to be seen. A greater percentage of the accidents occur between midnight and 4 a.m. and on roads that have lower speed limits. More fatal hit-and-run accidents also happen in places that have a lot of foot traffic.

According to Jake Nelson, AAA’s director of traffic safety advocacy and research, smartphones are playing a significant role in the number of hit-and-run accidents. While Nelson suggests bike lanes and walkways that are protected by barriers as a solution, critics claim that these wreak havoc on parking and travel lanes for drivers.

Drivers who leave the scenes of fatal accidents may face long prison sentences if they are caught. Despite the potential penalties, the number of accidents has still increased. Drivers should make certain to watch for pedestrians on the sides of the roads who might cross. If pedestrians cross the road, drivers should slow down and stop even if the pedestrians aren’t in crosswalks. Drivers should also give cyclists enough room when they pass. Pedestrians and cyclists should watch for cars and take steps to avoid them.

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Why Are Teen Accidents Increasing?

Teen driving fatalities steadily declined from the middle part of the 1970s until about four years ago. Since that time, the number of teen driving fatalities has been increasing. Almost 3,000 teens are killed in motor vehicle accidents every year. One of the major contributing factors to the increase in teen driving fatalities is the use of cell phones and other electronic devices while the teens are driving. Using a cell phone while driving to text, talk, check social media, or use apps diverts the attention of teens away from the road. While their eyes are off of the road, the vehicles that they are driving can travel hundreds of feet. Since they are inexperienced drivers, they may not react the correct way to avoid collisions. Other issues that have contributed to the increase in accidents include driving while drunk, speeding, not wearing seatbelts, driving while they are drowsy, and driving with passengers in their vehicles.

Teaching Teens to Drive Safely

Parents can help to prevent their teens from being involved in an accident by teaching them to drive safely at all times. It is a good idea for them to enroll their children in drivers’ education courses. Once they have completed these classes, the parents should regularly take them to practice driving. Parents should view the state’s required supervised driving hours as a minimum amount and should aim to teach them more. They should also model safe driving practices themselves by always wearing seatbelts, following speed limits, and not checking their cell phones while they drive. Teaching teens to drive safely may save their lives and those of others.

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Dangers of Tire Separations

When tires fall off of vehicles while they are traveling on the highways, they may fly through the air and collide into other vehicles. These car accidents are sometimes deadly. In a recent case in Nevada, two cousins were killed when a tire separated from an SUV that was traveling in the opposite direction on Interstate 95. The tire crashed through the windshield of the vehicle in which they were passengers, killing them both. An engineer with MFA Forensics states that there are around 50,000 tire separations each year, and the incidents are underreported. This makes it difficult to determine the pervasiveness of the problem.

What Causes Tires to Separate?

Tires may separate from vehicles because of several maintenance issues. In 643 cases that happened between 2000 and 2003, 65 percent were caused by loose lug nuts, and 26 percent were caused by wheel bearing failures. Nearly all of the cases could have been prevented by proper maintenance. In a Canadian study, 83 percent of the reported wheel separations happened soon after the vehicles’ tires had been serviced.

Tires may separate when their lug nuts are tightened too much or not tightened enough. Mechanics that do not use the proper torque or calibrated tools when they change the tires may cause too much pressure to be applied to the lug nuts, causing them to sheer off while the vehicles are being driven. This may then lead to the tires flying off of the vehicles and striking other motorists who are traveling nearby. The mechanic shops that performed the improper maintenance may be liable to pay damages if people are killed or injured when the tires separate and fly off the vehicles.

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Single-Command Voice Systems Safer

According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, voice command systems are less distracting for drivers than infotainment systems that require people to glance at them or manually manipulate them. Researchers evaluated the effects that the characteristics of various interfaces had on drivers’ ability to focus and determined that those that used single-step voice commands impacted driver focus less than those that required multiple-step commands.

The researchers studied 80 drivers on Boston-area interstates between the ages of 20 and 66 while they made phone calls. Half of the drivers drove vehicles that were equipped with single-command systems while the other half drove vehicles that were equipped with multiple-step command systems. After the drivers were trained on how to use the infotainment systems, cameras were used to analyze the effects of using the systems.

The researchers found that for each 10-year increase in age, 3.7 more seconds were required for drivers to complete their calls with the multiple-step systems. Long glances away from the road lasting two seconds or more also increased by 0.4 percentage points. In the single-voice command vehicles, there was no corresponding increase in distraction with increasing age. Regardless of how old they were, the drivers that used single-voice command systems were able to keep their eyes on the road 85 percent of the time while they were making phone calls.

The findings indicate that installing single-voice command systems in vehicles that are owned by older drivers may help them to keep their attention focused on the roads. These systems may help older drivers avoid accidents that are caused by distracted driving.

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What to Do When There Is a Dangerous Driver

Calling the police is the best defense against dangerous drivers. When people see drivers who are weaving in and out of traffic, driving aggressively or driving while distracted or appear to be drunk, they should not attempt to follow the dangerous motorist. Doing so could make the situation worse. People should not take pictures of dangerous drivers or provoke them in any way because such actions could lead to road rage incidents. Instead, they should pull over to the side of the road and call the police. If possible, people should try to note the vehicle’s make, model, color, and license plate number. This information can be helpful for responding officers who are attempting to locate the vehicle. Witnesses should also take note of the approximate mile marker or other location indicators and the direction the dangerous vehicle is traveling so they can provide this information to the dispatcher.

People should only report those drivers whose actions are a threat to public safety. The 911 system should not be used to report simple traffic violations. When people witness problematic driving behaviors that are minor and that do not rise to the level of endangering others, they can opt to report what they see by calling the police non-emergency line.

Why Reporting Is Important

While some people may be hesitant to report dangerous drivers to the police, it is important to do so. In 2015, more than 3,400 people were killed and 390,000 were injured because of distracted drivers. During the same year, more than 10,265 fatalities and 290,000 injuries were caused by impaired drivers. If reports had been made, some of those accidents could have been prevented.

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