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Page 6 of 9 Cargo Barriers What is a cargo barrier and why is it important? Documented cases of cargo-caused injuries indicate the importance of cargo barriers. For example, consider a case report of a 33 year old man who was driving a hatchback at 40mph and had unrestrained woBoden planks in the cargo area (he had folded down the 2nd row seats). In the crash the planks traveled forward into the back of his vehicle seat – he died of hemorrhage secondary to an aortic dissection and ruptured spleen. Another case report involves a six year old boy who was a rear passenger wearing a seat belt in a hatchback car involved in a high speed crash. There was computing equipment stored in the rear of the hatchback; this equipment moved forward at the time of the collision, breaking the rear seat. The six year old suffered an acute flexion injury of the throacolumbar spine resulting in fracture dislocation of the spine at the level of L2-L3. In addition he suffered a large mesenteric hematoma and a perforated intestine. He died of his injuries on hospital day number 16. His sister, who was riding in the back seat with him, suffered fracture-dislocation of cervical vertebrae 6 and 7 and was left quadriplegic. “There is no doubt that the 6-year-old boy in and his sister would have sustained considerably less significant injuries had a barrier been in place.” I don't have a barrier. What can I do to be safe until I can get one? Be careful how you pack the back of your car. Put the heaviest objects closest to the back seat and use nylon cords to tie these objects down. What about cargo in the passenger section of my car? Be careful what you put in the passenger section of your car. Don't leave sharp objects like umbrellas or heavy objects like water bottles or textbooks unrestrained, since these can fly around and injure someone in a crash. Make sure that all head restraints are secured in the seats, since they have sharp parts that can easily cause injuries. Be careful which objects you allow your kids to play with in the car. Heavy DVD players and other toys will slip right out of your kids hands in a crash. |
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