Fighting Traumatic Brain Injuries through the Seatbelt Law

A crash victim has a great possibility of sustaining head injuries. According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), head injuries are any form of trauma that caused damage to the skull, scalp or brain.

Once the brain is damaged through these injuries to the head, the condition is referred to as Traumatic Brain Injury or TBI. Individuals who have this ailment may experience changes in the way they think, speak and feel.

TBI is a growing health problem within the country. Some of its main cities where a lot of road activity is present may have numerous cases of brain injury caused by vehicular accidents. Los Angeles in California is considered as one of these high risk cities. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) had confirmed through its reports that as of 2009, some 588 accidents had already taken place in this area.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also found out that around 1.7 million Americans sustain TBI yearly. About 52,000 of these victims die, while some 1.365 million or 60 percent are being treated and released from hospital emergency departments. The CDC further said that motor vehicle traffic injury is the leading cause of TBI deaths especially for people aged 20 to 24 years old. 

To fight the growing rate of these health concerns, different states created laws that would govern motorists. In California, a Mandatory Seatbelt Law is strictly implemented. It is also referred to at times as the Vehicle Code Section 27315. Here are some of its provisions: 

Statistics and Injuries due to Distracted Driving

 

Distractions while driving are often fatal. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) there had been about 5, 474 who got killed in vehicle crashes across the United States due to distracted driving in the year 2009. This does not include the 448,000 other individuals who got injured in such accidents. This meant that distracted driving brought around 16 percent of the fatal traffic crashes in that same year.

These staggering numbers include little children, the elderly and young adults. Los Angeles, not surprisingly, is one of the cities with the leading number of fatalities. According to the NHTSA records, in 2009 this highly urbanized location recorded the most number of accidents. 

Distraction while driving occurs when the driver of the motor vehicle attempts to do two things at the same time. Some of the samples of this nasty driving habit include using the cell phone (texting or calling), grooming, reading, or even thinking about other things aside from driving itself. Most of the time, such acts lead to collisions which should have been prevented.

During crashes, those inside the vehicle are susceptible to traumatic injuries. Two of the most common forms of this include the following:

Initial Indications of Traumatic Brain injury

A lot of accidents have been documented at the State of California. One of the possible reasons for this is the high road activity brought by tourism. This is also the primary element being blamed by authorities for their failure to implement the law and protect the citizens living within this location.

Due to the notoriety of California as a place prone to road accidents, it has actually landed in the list of the world’s worst places to drive in.

Based from the 2009 records of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), California topped the list of states with the most traffic fatalities in a year. Records show that in 2009 alone, there were 3,081 casualties in here. Los Angeles, one of its cities, also had the most number of casualties in the same year, with some 588 recorded traffic accident-related deaths. 

There is a great probability that the victims of traffic mishaps would sustain injuries that could debilitate them for life. One of the worst kinds of injury that they could incur is that of the traumatic brain injury (TBI). 

TBIis a type of ailment resulting from a strong blow to the head. It causes the skull to have fractures or have a crack. During the blow, the brain may bump against the skull, which could lead skull fragments to pierce the brain. Once the brain bleeds, or have its tissues torn or bruised, the victim could suffer from disrupted emotional or psychological functions.

The Top Deadliest Mistakes a Driver Must Avoid

In a perfect world, driving can be fun and easy. Every necessary movement associated with driving can be performed with accuracy. But then, this is not a perfect world. Truth be told, there is no such thing as accurate driving. Any attempt to make sure that the driving experience is smooth at all times is downright dubious. At any time and any place possible, driving can lead to either major or minor accidents.

To help drivers uphold their safety and of other motorists, it is important for them to keep in mind the deadliest driving mistakes. Here are some of them that they must avoid:

·         Swerving. It is the switching of lanes without proper caution. It is considered the primary deadly mistake, which, according to the National Highway Traffic Administration (NHTSA), killed 15,574 people n 2007 alone.

·         Drowsy driving. Fatigue is one of the main enemies of drivers. It is often said that driving while tired is as dangerous as driving while under the influence of alcohol and drugs. Traffic deaths are at its peak at hours when most people are accustomed to sleeping, usually from 3 a.m. to 6 a.m.