For years, safety experts have been touting the benefits of sitting in the back seat. After all, it was supposed to be the safest place to be in a crash. However, that may not be the case anymore. Here’s what you need to know about the safest seat in a car accident.
Where is the Safest Seat in a Car Accident?
Front seatbelt technology has made major strides over the past few years. That technology, however, has not translated to safer back seatbelts. As such, the front seat has grown safer while the backseat has stayed roughly the same.
Now safety researchers have new recommendations when it comes to sitting safely in cars and surviving serious car accidents. According to their data, the safest front seatbelts tighten up when sensors detect a crash. They also loosen a little when the passenger is pressing so hard against the seatbelt that an injury may occur.
Seatbelts like this are available in the backseats of some vehicles. However, they’re not available in all of them. Most rear seats lack these types of load limiters, meaning they can’t loosen up. In a crash, a tight seat belt that is incapable of loosening can cause serious injury. In fact, chest, abdominal, or spinal injuries are common seatbelt injuries according to a new study conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
Frontal crashes killed or seriously injured 117 passengers in the back seat between 6 and 92 years of age. As such, seniors over the age of 55 should sit in the front of newer vehicles with these advanced seatbelts if they’re not available in the back seat.
By 2022, the insurance institute hopes to have a back seat crash test to help consumers choose vehicles that offer the best protection no matter where their passengers sit. They’re hoping that this prompts automakers to continue to make improvements to backseat seatbelts.
Where Should Kids Sit?
Kids are still urged to sit in the back seat. While the institute did find that seatbelts in the backseat caused injury, it was still the safest place to sit. As such, researchers and highway safety experts still recommend that children under the age of 13 still sit in the back seat. In addition, children should stay in boosters or car seats until they have outgrown the weight and height limits. These types of safety devices can protect children from serious injury and harm.
Contact Our Experienced Arvada Car Accident Lawyers
If you or someone you love has been injured in a car accident in Arvada, Northglenn, Thornton, or anywhere in Northern Colorado, it is important to contact our experienced Arvada car accident attorneys immediately. At Hull & Zimmerman, P.C., we hold the deep belief that everyone deserves justice. Contact us at (303) 423-1770 or (866) 385-3505.
Our injury lawyers have extensive experience representing injured accident victims in Broomfield, Arvada, Superior, Lafayette, Louisville, Erie, Brighton, Commerce City, Northglenn, Westminster, Thornton, Longmont, and throughout Colorado.
