Feb 5, Flipped my truck...

by Krystal
(California)

Two nights ago, my friends and I were driving down a dirt road in my truck when I swerved too hard and flipped it. There were four of us sitting in the front seat and none of us were wearing seatbelts. We landed directly upside-down on the roof. We miraculously walked away without any serious injuries, but we have the same pain in our backs and shoulder blades. So although we weren't hit from the front or back, is it possible we could still experience whiplash? (We're all slender girls between ages 14-18.)

Hi there, Michelle here...

I know I should start with just talking about your injuries, but I can’t skip something really important. No seatbelts. Four in the front seat. You are more than lucky. I wonder if you, as the driver realize how close you came to being responsible for a massive tragedy?

The driver of a vehicle is the one who makes the choice whether or not her passengers have seatbelts on. The driver is therefore also responsible when her passengers are not wearing their seatbelts.

You are young. And therefore it is normal for you to make mistakes when you are driving. Mistakes happen to even the very best drivers. The way you prevent an accident from becoming a tragedy- which you would be the cause of- you must not drive again, unless your passengers have seatbelts on.

It is easy to blame your passengers, but you control whether or not the car is placed into drive. You control everything when you put the key in the car. You must take this accident as a wake up call, and decide how you are going to take charge of the people who you are totally responsible for.

Ok, lecture over. I hope you are still reading.
Now, please go directly to the doctor. ALL FOUR OF YOU.

It is possible that there are many different kinds of injuries all of you are suffering from. Although you “walked” away from the accident, it is possible the injuries are still very serious, but have not been found.

Please go straight to the doctor, you all need x-rays, right now. Then after the x-rays, depending on what is injured, chiropractic and massage treatment are essential.

You can get whiplash from falling down a stairway. Often it is the stop of the forward motion which causes whiplash. You are moving forward inside a car which has momentum... when the wheels catch in the dirt â€" there is a radical reduction of your forward motion ---this can create whiplash.

However, you are still moving inside the car, and as the car begins to flip, once again your bodies begin to move, and then the car hits the ground and your body and it’s motion comes to an instant stop.

Your injuries can have come from more than one part of this accident.

So, use ice. Rest. See the doctor right away. Ice some more.

Good luck. Please make the choice to protect yourself and those who you are responsible for. M.