Low Speed Auto Accidents
Thousands of car accidents occur everyday. And every day thousands are
injured. Researchers note that the majority of auto accident injury
claims occur at relatively low speeds of about 12 mph or less.
Car Accident Disputes
This causes tremendous disputes between injured parties and the
insurance companies that are responsible for compensating them for
their car accident claim. To insurers, there really is no speed at
which they want to admit an injury could occur. For economic reasons
they try to dismiss whiplash or car accident injuries entirely, as if
they don’t exist.
Thanks to recent irrefutable research studies proving the existence and
exact mechanism of whiplash car injuries, insurers are hard pressed to
try the “whiplash is a hoax” defense nearly as much as in the past.
A more recent tactic is to claim the speed of the collision is too low
to cause injury. Enter the “low speed collision” or “slow speed
collision” defense. The defense often relies on their insured’s reports
of how fast they were going when they ran into the back of the other
party-obviously biased data.
Other times photographs of the vehicle damage is used to show a low
speed car accident. Often, the photographs are shown to an Accident
Reconstructionist who by merely looking at photographic damage of a car
crash then renders an opinion on how fast the vehicles were traveling.
They will even go so far to make statements such as “the evidence
suggests there was insufficient force to cause human bodily injury…”
This would be laughable if it didn’t cause so many problems for injured
car accident victims. By the way, in most states Auto Crash
Reconstructionists are only allowed to testify or ender an expert
opinion as to vehicle damage. They are not trained to determine bodily
injury.
The Truth
Here are but a few facts concerning motor vehicle injuries and their relationship to speed with supporting scientific evidence.
Three different studies (Panjabi, Panjabi and Cholewicki and Kaneoka)
proved the mechanism by which the neck is injured by a rear impact
force simulating a car accident. [1], [2], [3] The studies involved
simulating a rear impact collision on live human test subjects and
recording the results with cineradiography (high speed motion x-rays).
The researchers found that the neck was injured by deforming into an
“S- shaped” configuration within fractions of a second of the impact
before the occupant is aware of the impact and before reflexes can
protect them. All three of these studies found that this physical event
occurred at speeds as low as 2.5 mph. In other words, when they
simulated car crashes sufficient to cause the head to move in
relationship to the body at a rate of 2.5 mph, injuries were recorded.
The radiographically proven human threshold for injury in a rear impact
auto accident therefore is 2.5 mph. Other authors have disputed these
figures and some insurance company sponsored studies have found the
threshold to be closer to 5 mph.
For the sake of argument, let’s stipulate that the 5 mph threshold is
correct. It still means that a collision of only 5 mph can cause damage
to the neck.
Freeman et. al. in Spine, Vol. 23, Number 9, 1998, p. 1046 shows the
damage thresholds for many cars. This is the minimum speed required to
cause the car to show visible signs of damage. The smallest, lightest
vehicle listed was the 1980 Toyota Tercel, which required a collision
of 8.1 mph to become damaged. On the other end of the spectrum was the
1989 Chevrolet Citation, which required 12.7 mph. A Ford F-250 pick up
required 11.7 mph.
Cars built today are equipped with rear bumpers designed not to show
any damage below 5 mph. In an attempt to reduce repair costs shouldered
by insurance companies, crash standards were adopted to mandate rear
bumpers must withstand a 5 mph collision into a fixed barrier (wall,
pole, etc) without any visible evidence of damage. It should be noted
that this standard involves testing of “vehicle to barrier” crashes not
“vehicle to vehicle” testing.
Hitting a pole as in “vehicle to barrier” testing yields more damage at
lower speeds. The barrier does not move or absorb any energy.
In “vehicle to vehicle” crashes where the bumpers line up well, it
takes considerably more force to cause visible bumper damage than a 5
mph collision. Some tests have shown that cars could be crashed
repeatedly at 20 mph and not show outer damage. In a “vehicle to
vehicle” crash it is estimated that the minimum speed to cause visible
damage is approximately 15 mph.
What happens to the occupant in these collisions is what matters. If
you are backing up in a parking lot and run into a pole at 6 mph. You
will feel a crunch and a bump. You’ll be startled and upset about your
bumper, but it is unlikley you’ll be injured.
On the other hand, if you are stopped in a parking lot waiting for a
space and another vehicle strikes you at 12 mph (the average speed of a
car in a parking lot) you will likely feel a tremendous jolt, hear a
loud bang and your car will be pushed forward a few feet. It is
probable that your neck will be injured, although it may not show up
for hours or days, but your bumper may not even show a dent.
In the first scenario all the energy of the crash was absorbed by the
bumper. In the second, some of the energy was bled off into the two
vehicles, but much of it was transmitted into your body causing your
neck to deform into the “S” configuration resulting in injury.
Another consideration is that while a bumper may look undamaged from
the outside after a collision, inside under the skin, the foam or
plastic may be crushed or cracked. This is not seen from the outside,
so photographs would make it appear as if no damage was sustained.
Still further, the bumper may appear intact, but on unibody vehicles,
the unibody may be bent or deformed by a collision. This may not be
apparent and some auto repair facilities may miss it.
So what does this mean? It means that if you are rear-ended and your
bumper is cracked, dented, or misplaced at all, your collision involved
speeds in excess of 15 mph. That’s 3 times the human threshold for
injury if we use the 5 mph figure. In reality, the proven threshold is
only 2.5 mph, so a collision of 15 mph is 6 times the threshold for
injury.
Now let’s say your vehicle sustained no visible damage, but your neck
hurts after the collision. Does that mean you weren’t really injured?
No. It means that the vehicle’s threshold for damage was not exceeded.
The impact could have been 10 mph. Too low for bumper damage, but still
4 times the threshold for human injury.
In a low speed collision, the kinetic forces that are transferred from
the other vehicle into your vehicle are not dampened or bled off by
your bumper. Instead, the force is transmitted through the vehicle,
into your seat and to your neck resulting in injury. If your body or
neck are jolted or jerked by the impact, an injury could occur.
Another aspect to consider is if your vehicle is moved forward by the
impact. An average car weighs close to 4,000 lbs. Let’s say you are hit
from behind and your car is pushed forward a few feet, but shows no
signs of bumper damage. Is it possible to be hurt? Yes, of course. The
force required to move a stationary 4,000 lb object is tremendous. Can
you walk up to a car sitting at a red light with its brakes on and
shove it forward even an inch? Not likely. A collision that is strong
enough to propel a car forward by even inches is plenty enough force to
cause a whiplash injury.
So, as you have now learned, there really shouldn’t be any dispute on
whether a low speed car accident collision can cause injuries. It has
been scientifically proven by several studies. It is also a fact that
the speed required to cause bodily injury is quite low, a scant 2.5
mph. It has also been shown that any accident that causes damage to the
rear bumper is likely to cause injuries and even in accidents where
there is no outward physical damage to the vehicle, there may still be
sufficient forces involved to cause bodily injuries.
About North Dallas Chiropractic
They are a car accident injury specialist. They specializes in back
pain and neck pain from car accidents. Their opinion is often sought by
other doctors, attorneys and insurance companies. You may contact
North Dallas Chiropracitc at (972) 392-4476 for a Car Accident Severity
consultation. North Dallas Chiropractic
References
Panjabi MM, Grauer JN (1997): “Whiplash produces a S-shape curvature of
the neck with hyperextension at lower levels. ” Spine 22 (21):
2489-94.
Panjabi MM, Cholewicki J, Nibu K, Grauer JN, Babat LB, Dvorak J, Bar HF
(1998-12-01): “[Biomechanics of whiplash injury].” Orthopade 1998 Dec;
27(12): 813-9.
Koji Kaneoka, Koshiro Ono, Satoshi Inami and Koichiro Hayashi
(99-04-15). “Motion analysis of cervical vertebrae during whiplash
loading.” Spine 24(8): 763-770
Characteristics of Specific Automobile Bumpers in Low Velocity Impacts, SAE 940916
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