We teach in our defensive driving class that many injuries are caused by loose objects that “fly” in a collision. When your vehicle suffers a sudden deceleration (as in a collision), the only things that stop with it, at least immediately, are the ones that are secured somehow. When the vehicle decelerates, a loose object temporarily keeps traveling at the speed the vehicle was originally going, until it hits something else in the slowing vehicle — like you, maybe.
Another thing we teach in our defensive driving class is even fairly light-weight objects can cause serious injuries. A tissue box weighing half a pound, at 60 mph, would feel like about 30 pounds hitting you in the back of the head! I think that would hurt a little bit. Think about the damage heavier objects could do. Do you ever carry a bowling ball in your vehicle? What about canned goods in a grocery sack or two? The forces involved in more serious collisions can send these things flying like cannon shots — and send you to the hospital.
Finally, the last thing we teach in defensive driving is that inanimate objects are not the only loose objects that can hurt (or even kill) you. If I should fail in my responsibilities as a driver and hit something, or get hit by someone else, any passenger in my vehicle that is not belted becomes a loose object also. Drivers, safely belted into their seats, have been killed by un-belted back seat passengers who are launched forward in a crash. Babies, if not safely strapped into child-restraint seats, can be launched out windshields. Some parents think they can hold on to a baby in a crash. Because of the forces involved, that is often not the case; children can be involuntarily ejected from their parents’ arms, despite their best efforts to “hang on.” In my vehicle, everyone is asked to buckle up — no belt, no ride.
Take a look around your vehicle. Make sure everything is in a safe and secure place, in the trunk, under a cargo net, etc. Make sure the only thing “flying” in your vehicle are the words to your favorite song! If you get a ticket take our defensive driving course 2passdd.com