We all know driving without wearing a seatbelt is dangerous. But did you know wearing a seatbelt without correctly adjusting your seat is also dangerous for your health? The BOA (British Osteopathic Association) carried out a survey which showed 13% of drivers have their seat too far back for their seatbelt to offer protection in a front on collision!

How to wear your seatbelt
The belt should go over your pelvis bone (not your stomach or lower abdomen – this can cause injury to your internal organs when in a road traffic accident). The seatbelt should also contact your shoulder to prevent serious injury to your neck.

45% off all drivers in the UK (i.e. 15 million drivers) do not sit with their head close enough to the head rest or they sit too far back for the seatbelt to provide effective protection. This would increase their risk of a serious whiplash injury in a road traffic accident.

Despite most people nowadays travelling in several differnt vehicles, a tiny 6% of them only regularly adjust their head rest and seating position.

Head restraints
51% of all drivers in the survey never adjust their head rest! Head rests are designed to prevent permanent soft tissue damage by catching and supporting the head during a rear end collision. Correctly position your headrest by bringing it as close to the back of your head as possible. This significantly reduces the head and neck movement in relation to the rest of the body in a road traffic accident. (Compare your car seating position to that of one in a roller coaster to improve your posture).

Airbags
Another common complaint at The Osteocare Clinic is that of serious chest injury as a result of the airbag during a road traffic accident. This is due to sitting far too close to the steering wheel. One in seven drivers (approximately 14%) had a gap of less than 12 inches between the steering wheel and themselves. Therefore if involved in a serious road traffic accident, the full force of the airbag deploying could cause serious injury to the chest wall and the internal organs within the rib cage (i.e. your heart and lungs).

To protect the head and chest airbags must inflate extremely quickly (some airbags can inflate at over 200mph!). So ensure there is enough room between you and the steering wheel to allow the airbag to work properly for you. Approximately 12 inches (i.e. length of an A4 piece of paper) between you and the steering wheel is a general good rule of thumb.

Posted by Mr. Trishul Vadi (Principal Osteopath in West Wickham, Beckenham, Bromley & South East London) on Tuesday, November 16th, 2010