Imagine driving on a slow evening through the city when most establishments are winding down for the day. You approach an intersection, and when the traffic light turns green, you drive forward – only to collide with another car running a red light. The other car hits your vehicle square on the left side of your vehicle. The collision crushes the door next to you, hurting your body closest to the impact and violently yanking the rest of you to the right, causing whiplash.
If that sounds terrifying, that’s because T-bone accidents – also called side or angle collisions – are some of the most dangerous collisions you can experience. But why are they dangerous in the first place?
What makes T-bone accidents potentially fatal?
Compared to head-on and rear-end collisions, a T-bone crash is much more dangerous because the sides of cars can’t absorb as much force as a vehicle’s front or rear ends. No matter how much safety engineering is in place, there’s no denying that the fronts and rears of cars have enough components and materials to absorb the impact of a crash – the sides, not so much.
Just how dangerous are T-bone accidents?
According to the National Safety Council, of the 8.2 million vehicular crashes recorded in 2020, 35.4% were T-bone accidents. Of those T-bone collisions, 45.7% resulted in deaths, while 46.1% led to injuries. By comparison, rear-end collisions comprised 41.6% of all crashes recorded in 2020 (the most common type of collision that year) but only caused 17.1% of deaths and 37.7% of injuries.
What are the possible injuries you can sustain from a T-bone accident?
Because there’s essentially only a door and the car body’s pillars shielding you from a side collision, you can suffer many potential injuries following the accident if the crash doesn’t immediately kill you. These include:
- Fractures
- Back injuries
- Neck injuries
- Pelvic injuries
- Damage to the organs
- Brain injuries
T-bone accidents are dangerous. Even if you drive as safely as possible, there’s no telling when another vehicle could smash into you from a blind side. Remember to obey all traffic lights and stop signs, stay vigilant at intersections, and approach blind corners with care. Should you survive a T-bone accident, seek immediate medical help before pursuing any insurance claim or legal action.