*Feeling The Crunch

So. It's been a while between blog posts. Isn't it always?
I was thinking; I needed a new topic to help spice up the interwebs; I needed inspiration.

And then it hit me. Literally.
(I know that's an awful pun, but come on, it's hilarious)

I was in a car accident a week ago, which was minor for me, and left poor Jenny needing a major nose job
Rye was in an accident a while ago, and she was okay, but Lucy was toast.
My dad was in an accident a year and a half ago. The Astro van was destroyed. And my Dad's not much better off.

I'm sure we can all count, probably on several hands, the people we know who have been in collisions, major or minor. We do live in Calgary, where poor drivers are stupidly common, so if you haven't, it's only a matter of time. Sorry. I know so many people who are good, aware, smart, and defensive drivers. And they have all been hit by a moron or two.

Healthwise, mva's (motor vehicle accidents) have a variety of health consequences. Everything from the shakes to headaches to broken bones, to whiplash to death (which is an awful health consequence; most often fatal).

General Aches & headaches

Car accidents happen so fast, we really don't understand the full impact until at least a few days after. Concussions are common with mva's, and are the leading cause of headaches. We may also have tensed up in the moment of the crash, leading to muscle tension, aches, and subsequent headaches. Any impact that was forceful enough that you were thrown around the vehicle will lead to much more damage.
-Imagine sitting in the driver's seat and suddenly having your face in the airbag, your arms in the air, and your body off to one side (picture the slow motion truck drop in Inception)-
Such a force will have a myriad of health consequences, all which should be looked at by a doctor as soon as possible!

Whiplash
Whiplash, in simplest terms, is when your head gets whipped back and forth from the impact of a crash. The head snaps forward, then back. In a situation of whplash, depending on the force of an impact, a headrest and an airbag can save your life and your spinal chord, but in other situations, the mish-mashing of your brain inside your head will most likely give you a concussion, and then headaches. More forceful impacts will leave spinal damage, severe headaches, and neck problems.
Sideways whiplash is a whole 'nother story. While doctors and researchers have tons of info on back-and-forth whiplash, sideways whiplash is mostly unexplored territory. The health impacts are known to be severe, but the exact underlying causes remain mostly a mystery. I've heard rumour of snapped nerves, cut off nerves, bone snapping, and calcified ligaments. Anything further, and I'm the wrong gal to ask. All I know is that sideways whiplash is a b*tch.

Broken or Fractured Bones
These are common. Some examples:

• Breaking your arm or leg if you are t-boned on your side
• Breaking your jaw if your face hits the dashboard
• Breaking or otherwise damaging your nose when it hits the airbag
  
• Fracturing your pelvis is common in high impact collisions
  
• Fracturing your wrist if it hits the steering wheel, the dashboard, or even if it directly contacts the airbag
• Breaking practically anything if you are a pedestrian and you're hit by a car (still counts as an mva)

If any breaks occur, treat them like you would if you got them from falling off a trampoline, or being pushed down the stairs; don't touch them, and get to a hospital. And maybe pop some pain meds; I hear broken bones hurt...

Statistically...
In Canada, the government has so kindly given us several statistics which I shall spit all over.

• The number of fatal car crashes has decreased over the past 20 years by 58% (my math could be wrong on that though. Either way, I personally attribute this to better cars, and not to better drivers)
• Only about 50% of fatalities and injuries were to drivers out of all crashes in 2009. That means that the other half were pedestrians, passengers, cyclists, or motorcyclists.
  
• The highest age group of fatalities and injuries, both driver and passenger? 25-34.
  
• Alcohol use by drivers was a factor in almost 30% of deaths from vehicle crashes during 2003-2005,
  
• Of those boozing drivers, more than 30% involved in fatal crashes were aged 16-24 years.
• AND 40% of speeding drivers involved in fatal crashes were 16 to 24 years of age. (Seriously, we young 'uns suck.)
  
• In Amurica, 16% of fatalities and 20% of injuries involved driver distraction; the highest proportion of distracted drivers involved in fatal crashes was in the under-20 age group (16%) followed by those aged 20 to 29 (13%). Seriously.
  

So. What can we gather from all this? Mostly that people suck.

Other than that, I hope to spread a bit of a message.
1. Be aware. A sleepy, distracted, or simple unaware driver is a shitty driver.
2. Follow the rules for goodness sake!! Stop at stop signs, intersections, and red lights. I know it seems obvious, but the number of people who have forgotten that and damaged my family members is ridiculous.
3. Be defensive. Even if many of the drivers in Calgary suck, you don't have to. Pay attention to what's happening around you and avoid being in the way of bad drivers. Let them have their accident somewhere else.
4. Don't be THAT GUY. We all know THAT driver. Don't be him or her. Be better than that. They'll figure out the hard way that being a douche isn't worth it.

We can make the world's roads safer if we all just suck a little less