Winter Driving Woes

Oh the Winter Driving has begun!

“Over the river and through the snow” sounds like an amazing time until your car loses control and sends you into an embankment, adjacent vehicle, or worse yet, pedestrian. Winter driving is a challenge that many drivers loathe. The news is constantly broadcasting stories of the number of vehicles that are involved in weather related accidents. Although it’s true that there are definitely a true “accident”, most collisions are due to human error.

Most Accidents aren’t Accidents!

Research has shown that an astounding 93% of all crashes are in fact, due to human error. How does that translate into winter driving? A common misconception, even though they swear they know this, is that 4-wheel drive means impervious to accident. Now it’s true that 4-wheel drive does give you more control in driving in slick conditions, but if you are driving like the ground is dry, trusting in your 4-wheel drive will only get you into a bad position faster.
There have been times that I have been traveling home from Salt Lake City while it’s snowing and am constantly passed by drivers who are trusting in their 4-wheel drive to get them to their destination safely, only to see that they have rolled their vehicle, slid off the road, or have caused an accident. This is something that can be completely avoided as their accident is a direct result of their actions.

The laws of Physics are at play in the winter time.

I have to admit that sliding around on the ice is kind of fun. However, it’s only fun in a controlled environment and not around other vehicles or poles. The part about ice and snow that is not fun is the part of applying Newton’s First AND Second Law of Motion which states

• “An object at rest stays at rest and an object in motion stays in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force”,(1st Law)
• “The acceleration of an object as produced by a net force is directly proportional to the magnitude of the net force, in the same direction as the net force, and inversely proportional to the mass of the object.” (2nd Law)

In essence, what this means is that if you are hit by a vehicle while on a slick road, the reduced friction of the tires on the road directly increases the amount of force delivered directly to YOU! Isn’t winter driving fun?
Injury risk will exponentially increase and the need to visit an accident injury qualified physician becomes vital. There is a saying that our body adapts to what it does the most. If we have a tendency to favor an injury, then our body will find itself adapting to cope with the pain. Unfortunately, when we over work a muscle or joint, it will break down and, lucky you, now you have two shoulders, or knees, or segments of your spine that are yelling at you for what you have done to it.
Ignoring the problem will not make it go away. There is no way that you can avoid being held accountable to your body. You either pay the price now to get it fixed, or you will pay the price later with a more significant injury that takes more time to heal. The bottom line is, don’t be a statistic. Why do things the hard way, when it is so easy to do it right.
If you are injured in a car accident please know the signs and symptoms of whiplash. You can learn more below or by contacting us today.
https://nowhiplash.com/whiplash-car-accident-chiropractor/