Did you know that when your vehicle is rear ended, it actually accelerates 2.5 times faster than your vehicle?
When most people are asked how fast they think the other driver was going when he was rear ended, they usually respond with something like, “That guy must have been going 20 mph when he hit me.”
The truth is that 75% of all rear-end collisions occur at less than 10 mph. So how can people make such ridiculous statements? They make those statements because they were probably going 20 mph after being hit.
Researchers have found that occupants of a vehicle that has been hit from behind actually accelerate to 2.5 times the speed of the vehicle that hit you. So if your vehicle is hit at 10 mph from behind, your body will accelerate to 25 mph!
The only way to smooth out this experience is to have something that absorbs some of the “bullet” vehicle’s crash energy.
Most people think there are energy-absorbing bumpers to soften the blow…but according to the Federal Bumper Standard, bumpers are there to protect the vehicle’s safety equipment (headlights, grill, radiator, taillights , etc.) and are not designed for occupants. protection. We used to have 5 mph energy absorbing bumpers on passenger cars, but now it’s only 2.5 mph (allows unlimited bumper damage) and only on passenger cars, not trucks, SUVs, or minivans.
People also think that crumple zones will absorb the energy of a rear-end collision…but in “frame rail” vehicles like trucks and large SUVs, manufacturers don’t want any “global frame sag” at speeds below 35 mph… so where does that leave the occupants of trucks and SUVs?
If you have a receiver hitch on your truck or SUV, there are products that will slip onto your receiver hitch and actually absorb some of the crash energy from the most common vehicular accident on the road today: the rear-end collision. And for every 1 mph of crash energy they absorb, that’s 2.5 mph for the occupants.
If you have a truck or SUV equipped with a receiver hitch and you are hit from behind, you will feel the brunt of the collision because the receiver hitches are bolted to the frame and all the energy of the crash will be transferred. directly to the occupants.
There are products on the market today that will absorb crash energy and work with the receiver hitch to protect you and your family. Take a look and if they’re less than the price of a whiplash injury ($9,900 average cost), they’re probably worth a look.
