Studies have shown that almost 80% of all injuries in the US are related to whiplash injuries and the insurance industry estimates that nearly 250,000 whiplash injuries happen every year. The most common cause of whiplash injury is because of the car accidents, and it is advisable to take adequate precautions to avoid this kind of injury. There are simple but effective precautions that you can take to avoid whiplash injuries from happening to you. Instead of having to sue the perpetrator of the accident for compensation or go through the trouble of filing for a claim to recover costs under whiplash injury, it is better to prevent the injuries from happening. As they say, prevention is better than cure.

If more than one person uses the car, it is better to adjust the head restraint for each driver and make sure that the same is positioned according to the convenience of each driver. Not adjusting the head restraint for each driver may result in whiplash injury as it is an important protection against head and neck injuries and hence, the restraint has to be adjusted for each position. Further, the head restraint must be locked when driving. This is because if the head restraint is not locked, it might move during an accident, and the head might move as well and this would result in substantial injuries to the head and neck if an accident happens.

If you are the driver, there are more chances of you sustaining an injury because the driver is the first point of impact during a collision and hence the driver needs to take adequate precautions against sustaining injuries. Evidence suggests that being the driver increases the chances of head injury by double and hence, adequate precautions must be taken by the driver. Research has also shown that women suffer from whiplash injuries more than the men and this is because they sit upright and closer to the steering wheel. Hence, whenever there is a collision from behind, there are chances of the women drivers being injured. These positions mean that women drivers have to be extra careful against whiplash injuries.

When you adjust your head restraint while driving, it will reduce the distance between the back of the head and the head restraint making the head less likely to bend during a collision. This would prevent the head from bending backwards. This will also reduce the amount of time that your head to contact the head restraint and increase the amount of time that your head has for being supported. When you are buying a car, make sure that you buy one that has a head restraint that can be firmly in place and can be adjusted according to your convenience. This is more so if you are buying a second hand car. As this article has pointed out, whiplash injuries can be prevented and by following some simple but effective measures, you can reduce the chances of whiplash injury substantially and prevent yourself from getting injured in the process.