How To Avoid Whiplash, And What To Do If It Happens To You
Whiplash injury claims make up an estimated 75% of all motor insurance transactions in the UK
, which demonstrates that many motorists are not adhering to the basic principles of good, responsible driving.
Keeping a safe braking distance from the vehicle in front would eradicate the vast majority of whiplash injuries overnight, and also help to avoid many other more serious accidents. Many motorists disregard the idea of a safe braking distance as being an unnecessary hindrance. A swift glance at any of the tailgating tactics of the fast-lane bully boys on any UK motorway will confirm this.
It is a suggestion rather than a legal requirement, and perhaps with the amount of money whiplash claims cost the insurance industry, and therefore every motorist who buys a policy, this needs to change. Each British driver pays an extra GBP14 on their insurance ever year to compensate for the carelessness or the disregard of other drivers.
Of course, whiplash tends to be caused by the careless driver, behind, colliding with the innocent driver in front, and there is not much use in advising road users not to be shunted by the aggressive driver behind! It is more a case of, if everybody played by the rules, then these accidents wouldn't happen, almost a kind of karma.
The second suggestion, presupposing that any road user is at the mercy of the other drivers around them, is to ensure that you are prepared in case the worst happens. This means taking simple precautions like ensuring you always wear your seatbelt (a surprising, and worrying, amount of people still don't do this) and checking to see if your head restraint, if you have one, is properly aligned so it is level with the top of your head and as close to it as possible. This obviously also applies to any passengers travelling with you.
This means that, in the event of your vehicle being shunted, the restraint should cushion the motion of your head sufficiently well to stop any lasting damage being done.
Nobody is still exactly sure of the mechanism that causes whiplash, but the body being jolted into sudden forward motion while the head snaps backwards is undoubtedly a major factor in stretching the soft tissue in the neck and shoulders. Whiplash involves the tendons and nerves in the spinal region sustaining damage, and for this reason sufferers can also experience loss of sensation in the fingers and arms after an accident.
The most common symptoms, however, are pain and twinges in the neck, back and shoulders, and impaired movement. A severe whiplash injury can mean the person affected may have to take time off work and incur a loss of earnings, not to mention having their personal life affected.
If you do sustain a whiplash injury, whether it is on the road or elsewhere, you must firstly ensure that you seek medical attention as soon as possible. The symptoms described above may not manifest themselves immediately: they can take several days to become apparent, but as soon as you feel any discomfort you should go to the doctor so they can take appropriate action.
If you have been affected in any way by your whiplash injury, then you may wish to think about making an compensation claim to recover any lost earnings, or to receive damages if you've been in pain or discomfort. There are many avenues you can take to pursue a claim, should you wish, and most claims companies offer their services under the terms of the 'no win no fee' agreement.
by: Richard Craig
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