Maybe you spend a lot of time in your car, so you tend to think of the interior as a mobile storage unit. Maybe you just have a habit of letting things accumulate on the seats or in the drink caddy until you get around to clearing them out once in a while. Whatever the reason, you need to stop.
Loose objects have the potential to become projectiles if you’re ever involved in a wreck, and that can cause serious injuries in addition to the damage done from the collision. Some of the biggest culprits are:
- Personal electronics: Laptops, tablets and cellphones can all become airborne during impact and a blow to the head from any of them could do you a lot of harm.
- Food containers: If you pack your lunch every day, that lunch box or bottled drink could easily injure you, as could any kind of metal or plastic pail.
- Grocery items: Can goods, in particular, could pack a wallop if they get knocked loose in a wreck and hit you or your passengers.
- Passengers: You may not think of other people in your vehicle as “loose objects” but they might as well be if they aren’t securely fastened behind their seat belts.
Basically, it comes down to this: You need to put anything that has the potential to go flying in a wreck in the trunk whenever possible, and on the floor when it isn’t. Small objects that you might want to keep in the car can be grouped in a bag, for example, and tucked under a seat for safety.
Car accidents are no joke — so if you’re in one, make sure that you have experienced legal advice to help you deal with the insurance companies and get what you are rightfully due.
