Whiplash injuries cost £2bn a year.

[stockhausen]

The number of claims for whiplash injuries following road accidents is soaring, say British insurance firms. The Association of British Insurers (ABI) says that its members receive almost 1,200 claims of this type every day, worth £2bn a year.
...
The AA said that drivers could reduce the risk of whiplash injuries by adjusting the head restraints in their cars to the right height.
...
One of the biggest causes highlighted by the ABI was "tailgating" - driving too close to the car in front, and it called for the government's proposed new framework for learner drivers to emphasise safe following distances.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7729336.stm

I can't stand people tailgating me. From experience, I know that if you leave a sensible distance between your car and the car in front, some impatient moron will just "nip into the gap".

Getting the message that patience is a virtue across to young learner drivers is going to be quite a challenge

 

[chrislusty]

To be fair, its just as much women as it is to men when it comes to tailgaiting, I find less boy racers tailgate me, its the reps in the audi s-line or 318 that do it the most.

 

[Meridian]

Probably not unrelated to the fact that most people see whiplash claims as "easy money". There's no physical way to prove it one way or the other (if you've actually damaged your spine then that's a different matter), your doc is quite happy to sign off on it, and I believe the going rate is about £2500.

Whiplash is certainly uncomfortable, but whether it's £2500-uncomfortable is open to question.


M

 

[mrthingyx]

Probably not unrelated to the fact that most people see whiplash claims as "easy money". There's no physical way to prove it one way or the other (if you've actually damaged your spine then that's a different matter), your doc is quite happy to sign off on it, and I believe the going rate is about £2500.

Whiplash is certainly uncomfortable, but whether it's £2500-uncomfortable is open to question.


M

+1.

There is a reasonable likelihood that it correlates well with the number of ambulance-chaser cases that clog up the current legal system.

 

[stockhausen]

Probably not unrelated to the fact that most people see whiplash claims as "easy money". There's no physical way to prove it one way or the other (if you've actually damaged your spine then that's a different matter), your doc is quite happy to sign off on it, and I believe the going rate is about £2500.

Whiplash is certainly uncomfortable, but whether it's £2500-uncomfortable is open to question.

Agreed; particularly in view of the fact that the same BBC link points out that whiplash injuries cost the NHS a mere £8m per year (as opposed to £2billion). I believe that "back pain" is a common complaint for people who are off work for a long time for medical reasons.

To be honest, I was more interested in the comments about maladjusted headrests and particularly about the consequences of tailgating and how (if) it can be discouraged.

 

[Kamerad]

It's not tailgating its slipstreaming

 

[wassap]

I can't stand people tailgating me. From experience, I know that if you leave a sensible distance between your car and the car in front, some impatient moron will just "nip into the gap".

Getting the message that patience is a virtue across to young learner drivers is going to be quite a challenge

Im all for leaving a sensible distance, but not in the outside, I will take a gap in the outside lane if the moron has left a 4-5 car gap there, if you can afford to leave that kind of gap, you really shouldnt be in that lane, it is the overtaking lane.

The amount of times I make good progress by using the lanes correctly and doing smack on 70mph, is getting ridiculous, the problem many drivers seem to take a lot of offense when you do this

Ive noticed the M5 in and around the midalnds, has 'dont hog the middle lane' signs on the overhead gantry signs, its about time.

 

[Frapple]

If a boy racer tail gates me I usually (try) to show them up, so they stop being cocks.

If it's a BMW/Audi/other rep mobile I usually just fire up the screen wash, works 99% of the time.

 

[wassap]

If a boy racer tail gates me I usually (try) to show them up, so they stop being cocks.

If it's a BMW/Audi/other rep mobile I usually just fire up the screen wash, works 99% of the time.

I dont see the point of being confrontational, I just get out of the way and let them be a **** elsewhere.

Mind whilst i dont make a habit of tailgating, if someone is hoggging the lane, I will take necessary measures, washer jets dont put me off

 

[stockhausen]

Im all for leaving a sensible distance, but not in the outside, I will take a gap in the outside lane if the moron has left a 4-5 car gap there, if you can afford to leave that kind of gap, you really shouldnt be in that lane, it is the overtaking lane.

Safe stopping distances:
30 mph - six car lengths
40 mph - nine car lengths
50 mph - 13 car lengths
60 mph - 18 car lengths
70 mph - 24 car lengths

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TravelA...4?IdcService=GET_FILE&dID=95511&Rendition=Web

You are of course talking about "morons" driving at 25mph, aren't you?

I am sure that you realise that "using the lanes correctly" doesn't involve overtaking in an inside lane.

 

[Overlag]

Im all for leaving a sensible distance, but not in the outside, I will take a gap in the outside lane if the moron has left a 4-5 car gap there, if you can afford to leave that kind of gap, you really shouldnt be in that lane, it is the overtaking lane.

The amount of times I make good progress by using the lanes correctly and doing smack on 70mph, is getting ridiculous, the problem many drivers seem to take a lot of offense when you do this

Ive noticed the M5 in and around the midalnds, has 'dont hog the middle lane' signs on the overhead gantry signs, its about time.

because at 70mph a 4-5 car gap is rather small in the first place? having you stick your car there just makes it worse (you tailgating car infront, car behind is now tailgating you).

 

[BigT]

Im all for leaving a sensible distance, but not in the outside, I will take a gap in the outside lane if the moron has left a 4-5 car gap there, if you can afford to leave that kind of gap, you really shouldnt be in that lane, it is the overtaking lane.

Are you for real or was there a missing sarcasm smilie? Morons leave 4 car gaps in a lane where you're travelling at 60-80mph or more?! So you move in leaving less then two cars length between the car in front and behind you? People like you cause the types of accident that increases these whiplash claims that increases my insurance premium.

 

[BigglesPiP]

The insurance companies are cracking down on this.

The woman my brother crashed into just before new year is trying to claim for whiplash.

Insurance company looked at our cracked bumper and dented grill and said, "why is her door all dented". So not only is she screaming whiplash, she appears to have damaged it further.

Claim still isn't settled.

 

[adam cool dude]

The insurance companies are cracking down on this.

The woman my brother crashed into just before new year is trying to claim for whiplash.

Insurance company looked at our cracked bumper and dented grill and said, "why is her door all dented". So not only is she screaming whiplash, she appears to have damaged it further.

Claim still isn't settled.

Similar thing happened to me I had a accident in a morrisons car park last year during christmas shift. It was one of those comedy crashes and it was just a scratched rear bumper for him. Absolutley nothing for me as it was the number plate that hit him. We exchanged details and i said i would like to pay outside insurance. The quotes i got were £150-200 tops which is fair enough and was lesson learned. Then i was informed he contacted my insurance company for damages to the car (A lot more then a respray of a rear bumper) and whiplash. After my insurance company went to work he ended up with nothing.

 

[Muffin`]

After my insurance company went to work he ended up with nothing.

Fantastic

 

[Cr0fty]

It's not tailgating its slipstreaming

For some reason reminds me of...

It's not rape it's surprise sex!

 

[Nor]

Quite fancy getting one of those LCD displays so you can send a message to cars behind you - please keep your distance or something.

 

[Meridian]

Agreed; particularly in view of the fact that the same BBC link points out that whiplash injuries cost the NHS a mere £8m per year (as opposed to £2billion).

That's because there's no treatment - whiplash is just pulled muscles: specifically the two which pull the head down. NHS treatment is: "take some aspirin and **** off". I've had it twice, with impact speeds of about 20-30mph in each case. The first time was hard enough to do about £2500-worth of damage to the car:

The second less so, but was only about five months later and I don't think my neck liked it.


Did I claim - yes. For a start, it's difficult to know with neck injuries whether any damage might be permanent, and even whether it will be picked up properly - a neighbour is still having physio about eight months after her accident and in her case it was more than four months before they realised how bad the damage was. But mostly it's sheer anger: in each case my vehicle (or the one I was passenger in, in the second case) was stationary and a blind idiot drove into the back of it a few seconds later. Believe me, you want to hammer them. Yes, I know it doesn't hurt them in the slightest - that's why we have insurance - but the feeling it still there: get the most you can out of the other side. In my case it was about £500 and £600 respectively - this was eight years ago.


M

 

[wassap]

Are you for real or was there a missing sarcasm smilie? Morons leave 4 car gaps in a lane where you're travelling at 60-80mph or more?! So you move in leaving less then two cars length between the car in front and behind you? People like you cause the types of accident that increases these whiplash claims that increases my insurance premium.

Sorry maybe 4-5 car gap is a little off, but im talking about folks who leave 1/3 to 1/2 mile gap, you shouldnt be sitting in that lane, its the over taking lane ffs

 

[wassap]

You are of course talking about "morons" driving at 25mph, aren't you?

I am sure that you realise that "using the lanes correctly" doesn't involve overtaking in an inside lane.

So you would be perfectly happy if someone was sat in the outside lane with a 24 car gap?