Seat Belts and the Three Collisions Involved in a Vehicular Crash

The wearing of seat belts while riding in a car is mandatory. It is a clear expression of being obedient to the rules and regulations of road use while giving due recognition and respect for the laws of physics. Seat belts were devised as helpful means of keeping people riding in a car (or any motor vehicle for that matter) from suffering injuries, especially head injuries, in a crash. It is believed that vehicular accidents lead all other single causes of deaths in people age thirty-five and below. Many of the vehicular accident-related deaths are due to the head injuries sustained in the collision. If people just observe the law regarding the wearing of seat belts, such injuries can be, at least in part, avoided.

In a head-on collision, the motor vehicle comes to an abrupt stop; however, its passengers continue moving forward at the vehicle's speed prior to the crash. If these passengers are not wearing seat belts, they will most certainly be thrust forward and will bang into the steering wheel, the dashboard, or the windshield, the latter being the front passenger's head's most likely target.

To emphasize the importance of wearing seat belts, it must be made clear that for a passenger, not one but three successive collisions are actually involved in a vehicular crash. The first collision is between the motor vehicle and a non-moving object, such as an electric post, a brick wall, a bridge pillar, or a tree; or it may be another moving vehicle. This first collision brings the vehicle to an abrupt stop. But the passengers' (including, of course, the driver's) forward motion continues at the vehicle's pre-crash speed until the second collision takes place.

The second collision is between the passengers and the different parts of the vehicle, particularly those three earlier mentioned here. In this second collision, the passenger's head is stopped, and the skull may be fractured in the process. The entire vehicular-crash episode is completed by the third collision involving the brain and the inside of the skull. Even after the head has stopped as a result of the second collision, the brain keeps moving.

Clearly, the second and third collisions are the ones that can cause death to the passengers. Therefore, such fatal blows have to be avoided; it is particularly important to prevent the head from coming in contact with any solid object. In the given scenario, the wearing of seat belts is the obvious safety measure to take in ensuring that the passengers are kept from sustaining head injuries. Seat belts, particularly the three-point shoulder-strap/lap-belt combination type, can physically bridle the people in a moving vehicle, thus preventing them from being jolted forward in case of an accident.

Of course, seat belts won't be able to keep the brain from moving against the skull. The slight give in the belting nevertheless can help slow the body before it comes to a full stop. Accordingly, the collision between the brain and the skull is significantly weakened, and the most important of all bodily organs is thus safeguarded. [Read the Original Article]