How Crush Zones & Crumple Zones May Protect You in Tampa Bay, Florida Car Accidents

In a continuing effort to reduce injuries and deaths in car accidents, car manufacturers have made improvements to the way their vehicles respond in a collision. One of the main innovations in this area of car safety design has been crumple zones, also known as crush zones. Crumple zones and crush zones are areas of a vehicle that are specifically designed to absorb the force of an impact so that the force is not transferred to the vehicle's occupants, causing injury.

The science behind crush zones and crumple zones is multifaceted and takes many factors into consideration. For instance, a vehicle may be hit from countless different angles during a car accident. Vehicle speed, weight, and frame construction are also variables. These variables make every accident completely unique. Whether you are hit from behind by a tractor trailer at the intersection of Hillsborough and Dale Mabry in Tampa or you are in an SUV rollover accident on Interstate 4, automobile designers must study how the force of an impact is distributed in an infinite array of crash situations.

The basic purpose of crumple zones and crash zones is to absorb something called kinetic energy. Kinetic energy is the energy created by an object in motion. As your vehicle accelerates, it builds up more and more kinetic energy. When your vehicle slows down, kinetic energy is released. A good example of what kinetic energy feels like is when you step on the brakes. If you slam on the brakes, the force of kinetic energy pushes your body forward. If you step on the brakes gently, you still feel the forward motion of kinetic energy, but it's significantly less noticeable.

During a car accident, all vehicles in motion have kinetic energy. When one vehicle strikes another, the kinetic energy is transferred between the vehicles. Assuming the impact of an accident causes one or more vehicles to decelerate rapidly, kinetic energy is distributed to the vehicles themselves and also to the occupants inside. The result is damage to the vehicles and jostling of vehicle occupants, resulting in physical injuries.

Crumple zones and crash zones are designed to absorb kinetic energy so that it is not passed on to the driver and passengers. By buffering kinetic energy by even a tiny amount, crumple and crash zones reduce the force of the collision by a surprisingly large margin.

While crumple zones and crash zones have proven effective in reducing car accident injuries and deaths, obviously they do not eliminate the problem altogether. Sometimes, regardless of crumple zones, crash zones, seatbelts, and airbags, vehicle occupants sustain serious injuries as their bodies are forced to absorb the impact of an accident.

If you have been injured in a Tampa Bay, Florida area accident and you are concerned about how you will pay for your medical bills, please contact Tampa car accident lawyer Dale Appell, P.A. for a free initial consultation. We welcome your phone call, or if it's more convenient for you, fill out the form on our “Do I Have a Case?” page for prompt assistance.