Happy Monday everyone. Today's question is from the lovely Paula at Write Now:
"Two of my teen characters are involved in a car accident that involves a lot of jostling, spinning, car crunching. They both have seat belts on and both have air bags that deploy. I'm trying to figure out what a realistic injury would be where they may need rest for five or so days at home but nothing that would stop them from walking around and functioning."
The first thing I wondered was, if a car is relatively intact after an accident, how else could the passengers be injured?
What about the safety mechanisms? Could they hurt the passengers?
(This may be obvious but it still is worth repeating: seat belts and the supplemental safety of airbags drastically reduce risk of death in car accidents. Period. This post should not scare you into not using your seat belt!)
Three-point seat belts (what we all use today) could cause injuries to the spine and abdomen. The can be as severe as requiring surgery for internal organ damage or spinal paralysis, but for the accident that Paula has in mind, we could make these mild enough they didn't require hospitalization or surgery.
Air bag injuries. Air bags deploy at high velocity and expand via hot gases from a chemical reaction. The following are a list of possible injuries Paula could choose from to keep someone home for a few days, but without causing serious injury:
- Hearing damage. The airbags are really loud (160-170 decibels, akin to fireworks exploding or Boeing 747 engines on takeoff).
- Broken bones (fingers, noses, hands, arms)
- Head trauma (concussions, contusions)
- Eye damage
- Skin burns from the hot gases if the air bag punctures
- Skin abrasions
Happy Monday everyone, and please, don't be scared to buckle up!