How to avoid a low speed auto crash

A good friend of mine at Springwater Chiropractic treats a great deal of auto accident injury patients and he told me that over the years he has learned the best ways to get patients better quickly, so they won’t have limitations for the rest of their lives.

His adage is simple “an ounce of prevention beats a pound of cure” and is apropos to learning to drive. He told me he has some great advice for driver education students and based on the causal information he has gathered on hundreds of accident patients they have treated. His words of wisdom to help you avoid a low speed auto crash, are:

  • Avoid stop and go traffic. Most accidents are rear-end collisions, that occur when someone stops. Avoid routes that have a lot of stop lights and cross walks, if possible and when you have to stop, leave more room behind the car in front of you. Of course you need to stop at all stop signs and red lights. When you’ve stopped, glance in the rear-view mirror. Is the driver behind you distracted and slowing to stop. If not – brace yourself.
  • Don’t stop when you’re not supposed to. Don’t be a “nice guy” and stop on the road just to let someone turn left across traffic. When you do, you create a blind spot for drivers in the curbside lane that often leads to a t-bone collision.
  • Turn your phone off. You’re driving a 2000 pound piece of metal at 30-55 mph and suddenly your phone rings. Don’t let the temptation to answer your phone cause you to take your eyes off the road for a second. Your reaction time is not that good.
  • Be aware of the weather. Rain, snow or black ice can increase your stopping distance much more than you think. Don’t follow too close.
  • Don’t be in a hurry. Plan your trips. Leave for work in plenty of time. Your boss may end up being impressed that you show up early some days.

A great big thank you to Dr. Prom at Springwater Chiropractic.