You are out for a relaxing
Sunday morning drive.
Suddenly you hear tires screeching.
You panic.
You're about to crash.
You want to slam on the brakes,
but will that make it worse?
Today
we will explore
the most dangerous mistakes
you can make
in a car accident,
so keep your hands off the wheel
until you watch this.
You don’t need to be speeding
or driving drunk to have a car accident.
They happen all of the time,
and unfortunately,
some of them
can result in serious injuries
or death.
Every year,
more than 50 million people
are hurt in crashes globally,
and 37,000 people
involved in motor vehicle accidents
are killed daily.
That's why taking extra steps
to know the do's and dont's
in an emergency
could mean life or death.
You may see your car
as your second home,
but there’s no reason to leave things
scattered all around it.
All that clutter
can become very dangerous
during a crash.
Small objects could become projectiles.
If you’re driving at 100 km/h (60 mph)
and your car stops suddenly,
loose items like those groceries
in your backseat
will keep moving at the same speed
until they hit something.
Odds are that will be you.
That could cause you more damage
than the crash itself.
So, you’d better start tidying up
this bad boy.
In the U.S.,
86% of people
wear seatbelts regularly.
Well done, America.
But it’s also important
to wear it correctly.
It should be as tight as possible
because during a high-speed crash,
even the slightest movement
caused by a loose belt
can break bones in your upper body.
Always buckle up,
and make sure it's snug.
Your first instinct may be to slam
on the brakes,
but that can make you skid
and lose control.
If your vehicle has anti-lock brakes,
keep a steady foot on the brakes
and hold the steering wheel tightly.
If you don't have anti-lock brakes,
you’ll need to keep applying
the brakes repeatedly
with even pressure
to slow the car down.
A study conducted
by the Toyota Research Institute
compared the injuries caused
by a car accident
on a human cadaver
to those sustained by a volunteer
braced for impact
during a simulation.
They concluded that being braced
meant there was a higher risk
of fractures in the extremities
but less in the thorax,
where most of your
vital organs are.
So, tense up
and brace for impact.
Fortunately,
you don’t have visible injuries
and after all the stress of the accident,
you may just want to go home
and take a shower.
Uh uh.
Not a good idea.
In 2015,
writer Nicole Ross Rollender's car
was almost destroyed by an SUV.
She and her children were shaken,
but there were no apparent injuries
so they just went home.
That night, she started feeling stiff,
seeing white lights
and having difficulty speaking.
After finally going to the hospital,
Nicole found out
that she had a severe concussion.
Her injuries would take
more than a year to heal.
An accident's after-effects
aren't always immediate.
Make sure to get
checked out by a doctor,
just to be safe.
Oh, gosh, that was frightening.
Unfortunately, there are some roads
that don’t need a car crash
to be deadly.
There’s even a highway
where people keep disappearing.
Do you want to know where it is?
Keep watching to find out,
here on How to Survive.