Were you ever involved in a car accident? please vote!

sirel

Thu, Jan 24 2019, 10:21 am

I had a pretty vehement argument with someone today.

She claims that all the buckling up, booster seats, extreme car safety rules are overdone and are only necessary for car accidents that result in injury, which is unlikely to happen.
especially in low speed areas, like in the city.

I tried to tell her that car accidents are more common than she thinks.but whatever.

amother

Coffee

Thu, Jan 24 2019, 10:35 am

Yes, twice. Both times someone crashed into me from behind and it wasn't my fault.
I voted no one was injured, but that's relative.
In the first accident, which was worse, my car was pushed forward violently by the other car and hit a pedestrian who was lightly injured. I had a whip lash injury in my neck which hurt for several weeks. My car was total damage and had to be wrecked. If I hadn't had a seat belt, I would have been thrown forward into the windscreen and probably have had a severe head injury. The airbag didn't work.
Second accident was a relarively mild bump, only damaged the car a bit and gave me a mild neck ache for 2 days. But without seat belt that probably would have hurt more.

thunderstorm

Thu, Jan 24 2019, 10:39 am

We were stopped waiting at a red light and a car rear ended us full on. I had two kids in car seats and we were all seatbelted. I was injured with whiplash from the force of the crash and had to be taken by Hatzoloh to the hospital. The Hatzolah members mentioned that my kids were seatbelted safely and the car seats were installed properly and that is a good thing. They said that otherwise my kids would have been injured since they were sitting in the back.

southernbubby

Thu, Jan 24 2019, 10:42 am

I have been in several accidents but the one that injured me was pedestrian/auto and I was the pedestrian. My no fault auto insurance paid for the surgeries even though I was a pedestrian.

Kiwi13

Thu, Jan 24 2019, 10:43 am

I've been in a few accidents, most were minor fender benders, 2 were pretty bad (cars damaged/totaled). When I was a baby my parents' car was sideswiped by a truck on the highway and we spun out and into the median. B"H nobody was hurt. I'm told I was only a few months old and sleeping at the time. It was the 1980's and infant car seats were a joke compared to what we have now. Another accident involved 2 large vehicles (minivan and large SUV) that were both totaled, but B"H there were only minor injuries. Still painful, obviously, but nothing life threatening. To my knowledge, everyone involved was wearing seatbelts. I didn't vote in the poll, because my experience doesn't fit neatly into those categories.

amother

Cerise

Thu, Jan 24 2019, 10:43 am

sirel wrote:

You don't need your seat belt until you need it, and then it's too late.

I was in a head-on collision on a residential street, where the other driver was driving the wrong way in my lane. My airbag deployed but thanks to that and my seat belt -- baruch hashem -- I was only lightly injured.

amother

Lemon

Thu, Jan 24 2019, 10:45 am

My husband was in a pretty bad crash (he was at fault, he tried to pass in a no passing zone). Our 2 year old was in the car seat in the back and BH uninjured. I am very, very grateful because my husband is one of those people who think car seat rules are overblown and I always have to argue with him about buckling up fully and correctly.

leah233

Thu, Jan 24 2019, 11:16 am

sirel wrote:

A person is worse off getting into a high speed crash but even a crash at less than 30 mph can still cause MAJOR injuries without a seatbelt. A broken neck or a serious brain injury can happen at 25 mph. (Picture slamming into a wall on a bike at 25 mph.) Without a seatbelt the person will hit the windshield or some other object in the car.

At 30 MPH the impact of this crash is supposed to be a force of about 30 times your body weight.

It true that you probably won't hit anything at the full thirty miles per hour if the car does but even so muliply your weight by the speed you will crash into the dashboard.(Velocity x mass = overall mass)

Is it safe to be hit such a force? Especially in a vulnerable area like your neck

Is it worth the risk?

amother

Violet

Thu, Jan 24 2019, 12:43 pm

I was in a car accident on a suburban road when I was 12. It had been a long ride and I had fallen asleep, and we were about a mile from our destination. Unfortunately, the driver had also fallen asleep. Car veered off the road and crashed into a road sign. We woke up with the windshield on our laps, but were otherwise unhurt (we were wearing seat belts).

Another time, not long after I learned how to drive, I was rear-ended by a truck at a red light. Also on a suburban road, not far from home. The truck was traveling less than 10 mph, but because it was a truck, it did considerable damage to the back of my car. My insurance covered the replacement of the car seats. My kids were in the car, properly strapped, and I was wearing my seat belt. No injuries bh.

My friend's brother was involved in a very serious accident on a poorly lit country road at night. He had internal injuries from his seat belt, but without the seat belt, he would have been ejected from car and killed. He eventually recovered from his seat belt injuries.

amother

Red

Thu, Jan 24 2019, 12:52 pm

A relative of mine was driving a block away from his house in Brooklyn. A car ran a red light as he was going through the intersection. He was hit on the side and the car rolled over twice. A miracle happened and no one was hurt (besides for maybe some black and blue marks). It was a miracle because that day the seat by the impact was empty and it was usually a full car. Also everyone was seatbelts so they didn’t go flying around.

baltomom

Thu, Jan 24 2019, 1:01 pm

I don't quite understand the logic of the person arguing with you. The reason that many (most?) car accidents do not cause injuries is precisely BECAUSE the people in the cars are wearing seatbelts, sitting in carseats, etc. My father's good friend was killed in a car accident many years ago; he was not wearing a seatbelt. My parents would never back out of the driveway until everyone in the car was wearing their seatbelt. And this was in the days before all the seatbelt laws and recommendations.

Iymnok

Thu, Jan 24 2019, 1:23 pm

Even jest getting rear ended or a fender bender could get you thrown without a seatbelt.
Slamming on the breaks could throw a passenger.
These are pretty common but not "accidents".
Most accidents happen within 5 miles of home.
it is sadly common in my neighborhood to pile unbuckled kids into cars. It’s a "chested" to give a ride. "It’s fine since there aren’t police around."
אין סומלים על הנס. IOW don’t be an idiot.

amother

Seashell

Thu, Jan 24 2019, 1:34 pm

When I was a kid, my father never wore a seatbelt. He started wearing when I was a teen. When I asked him why, he told me that the requirement of fulfilling our hishtadlus with the mitzvah if v'nishmartem meod l'nafshosechem is depended on what most people do as safety precautions. Since most people did not wear seatbelts in the late 80s, it was not necessary for him to wear one, but since most people consider it a normal precaution to buckle up, one is required to do so in order to fulfill halacha. Maybe that argument will convince her.

amother

Sienna

Thu, Jan 24 2019, 1:48 pm

tigerwife wrote:

I actually know 2 different people who were R”L killed in car accidents. Both had babies in a car seat with them who survived the crash.

Hence the dark EMT humor - they call the middle of the backseat the "orphan seat" because that's the best place for survival in a terrible crash.

mommy3b2c

Thu, Jan 24 2019, 1:51 pm

That person is an idiot. I drove through a stop sign this year. There was a tree in front of it and I just didn’t see it. Someone else was driving the other way at the intersection. Both about 25 mph. Neither of us saw each other. There was a huge bang and I was thrown forward. It took me a few seconds to figure out what happened. My three year old starting crying 5 seconds later. My 9 year old was in shock for a full two minutes before he started crying. Thank G-d everyone was in the appropriate car seats and seat belts. I’m not to sure any of us would be alive had we not been. My car was so badly damaged that it couldn’t even drive at all. The guy in the other car got a minor burn on his hand. This was one block away from my home. I am generally a very careful, safe driver. Everyone please buckle up. You can be saving yours and your children’s lives.

Chayalle

Thu, Jan 24 2019, 1:55 pm

My family was in a terrible car accident when I was 15. Our car spun out of control on a major highway and hit the rail along the side. One of the back doors on our car came off. Had we not been seat-belted, we kids could've been thrown out of the moving car.

B"H, the worst we had were some stitches, a sprained arm, a totalled car, and a very shaken-up family.

shabbatiscoming

Thu, Jan 24 2019, 1:56 pm

I know someone who forgot to belt the car seat in but the kid was belted into the car seat. They were in an accident and the car sear went flying and BH the baby was unhurt.

I was in an accident but I was the pedestrian. I was thrown over the hood of the car and had a concussion. This was over 25 years ago (Ive had lasting effects from it) The driver did not see my friends and I crossing the road.