Whiplash claims give rise to new technology
Whiplash is one of the most common complaints reported after a car accident. It usually occurs as a result of a rear end shunt in which the impact causes the victims neck to be violently jarred, causing the severe and painful muscle damage in the neck and back known as
whiplash.
Rear and collisions, which are often the cause of whiplash, account for a massive one third of all
traffic accidents. As a result, whiplash is common and becoming increasingly more so in our busy society as it is a typical city accident, occurring in slow moving traffic.
The frequency of whiplash injuries is borne out by the number of compensation claims made over whiplash injuries. It is the single most common injury cited in car accident claims, with victims often receiving figures in their thousands for their whiplash injury.
However, these sums cannot restore health or free movement to victims, who often feel the effects of their injury for many weeks, months, or in some cases years after the initial accident.
Spurred on by the number of claims made concerning whiplash, one safety company has come up with a novel piece of technology that will hopefully reduce the number of rear impact accidents on our roads.
C2 innovations has developed a high tech solution called SAFElights which retail for US$150 on their website, safelightstore.com.
The technology involves the pairing of an LED light and a sensor attached to the brake pedal. When the driver brakes suddenly the light will go off, flashing brightly.
C2 innovations say that the flashing light more quickly captures the attention of the driver behind than the dull red glowing brake lights of the car.
“That extra burst of light increases the drivers' reaction time,” said Ten Ciuba, a top student at the university of Tennesse, where the product was first developed, who is involved in creating a marketing plan for the product.
He admits that at $150, roughly £75, is a rather expensive outlay, especially when considering replacement brake lights only cost around £5.
However, he suggests that the high price is a small price to pay for safety and that in the long run customers could be saving themselves money.
“We're also trying to show that there are financial costs, such as insurance premium increases and an average 6-8 week loss of work associated with whiplash injuries,” he said.
He also pointed out that the LED lights will last forever, at least in car terms. They last 20 times longer than a traditional brake bulb which gives an average of 500 hours of light, lasting for 10,000 hours.
Mercedes Benz have used the technology in their S600 series braking system and they report that the stopping time in greatly reduced as a result. Their experiments with the technology revealed that with the flashing lights stoppage distances increased by a third.
While the technology used in the Mercedes comes with the car and is combined with the braking system, the lights which C2 innovations offer can be installed into any model.
Updated on 04/06/2008