The best practice is to prevent the collision itself, but some unlucky drivers find that collision is imminent if the oncoming car seems to swerve uncontrolled. It is important for drivers to have split-second decisions to protect themselves for serious injuries or even death. The most important thing is to brace ourselves and go to “battle stations”. If we watch movies, we could see how the senior officer calls out order to brace for impact. We should also do the same. Seconds before the impact, we should brace for the crash. We should lean our head properly against the head restraint. Our back should be properly secured to the seat. In order to minimize the impact, we should outreach our arms and hold the steering wheel firmly. Our right foot should push the brake pedal hard and the left leg us on the floor. With this bracing stance, we should try to make our body to become a “part” of the car and our posture must be rigid.
This stance will surely minimize damages and injuries caused by high- or low-speed collision. Other passengers inside the car should also lean back and outstretch their arms rigidly to reduce possibilities of head or neck injuries. Injuries are magnified by improper body and head positions. Depending on the direction of the impact, we should make sure that our ligaments and muscles bear most of the impact. We shouldn’t look at the oncoming car. Our head should be aimed forward. If our head tilts down, up or to the side, the possibility of the neck injury will be much worse. In general, we should look ahead and try to brace it.
Very often, a car accident involves multiple impacts. After our car is hit by another car, our car could be rotate and hit the embankment, poles, other cars or other objects. Even if we think that we have survived the first impact, it is possible that we are not out of the woods yet. We should keep bracing until the car has stops moving. In fact, we should keep bracing for a few more seconds after the car stops, to make sure that no other cars will hit us. This will allow us to minimize further injuries. Whatever we do, it is important that we don’t let our guard down. This should allow us to avoid injuries caused by multiple impacts. If the second or even the third car suddenly hits us, then we can be left unprepared, potentially causing serious injuries. This is something that we should try to avoid whenever possible.
There are millions of accidents that occur every day. Many people could suffer from permanent disability and long term pain. Deaths are also common during road accidents and they could actually be prevented with good knowledge on bracing. In fact, with proper body posture, it is possible for them not only to escape death, but also serious injuries. During long-range, high-speed driving on the highway; our family members and other passengers should be informed about the proper bracing posture. So, when the driver calls out for the bracing warning; it is possible for them to avoid serious injuries.