Five Ways to Prevent Head Injuries in Car Accidents
Safety Tips From a Boston Head Injury Lawyer
As attorneys who handle Boston head injury claims, we know all too well the pain and suffering that victims of head injuries suffer. Here are some safety tips for your family from our office, in the hope that you never need to speak with us about filing a head injury lawsuit.
- Seatbelts. We’ll say it again. Seatbelts. Keeping yourself properly restrained in your vehicle is one of the best ways to keep both you and your passengers safe from traumatic head injuries. While there is always a risk that you can be involved in an accident where you suffer acceleration-deceleration injuries, having yourself properly restrained in your vehicle may dramatically reduce the forces acting on your brain and will reduce your risk of being ejected from your vehicle, which carries a higher risk of traumatic brain injury and death. In addition to seatbelts, you should also make sure that children are properly restrained in car seats or booster seats.
- Air Bags. Ensuring that your airbags are functioning properly and that you are seated in the correct position in your car will help keep you safe from potential head injuries. Air bags are designed to cushion the head and neck and prevent them from impacting with doors, dashboards, steering wheels, or glass in the car. However, it is also important to make sure that you are positioned correctly in your vehicle for the airbag to work. Children should not be seated in the front seat, as the force of an airbag can cause serious injuries.
- Speed Limits. Keeping your speed in check is an important way to reduce your risk of serious bodily injury, including serious head injuries. There will always be a chance that you will be unable to avoid a collision, but keeping your speed lower will increase your ability to avoid an accident, slow down when you see an accident about to occur, or engage in a defensive driving maneuver that will decrease the impact of the accident. Your ability to react to an accident is improved at lower speeds, and allows you more control of your vehicle.
- Use Caution Near Large Vehicles. It’s important to remember that there are always going to be large trucks and heavy duty vehicles on the highway, back roads, and city streets that you drive on. Stay alert and pay attention to truck blind spots. Accidents with large trucks are more likely to be fatal to the drivers of passenger cars and are also more likely to cause serious head injuries.
- Know the Symptoms of Head Injuries. Knowing the symptoms of a head injury might not prevent the injury, but it can save reduce the risk of serious consequences or possible loss of life. After a head injury, the brain may continue to sustain further damage from swelling that is occurs inside of the skull. Knowing the symptoms and seeking immediate treatment can prevent permanent brain damage.