How safe are you in your SUV?
It has been globally recognized that unrestrained seat passengers represent a higher risk of casualties in automobile accidents, hence the implementation of seatbelt legislation. However, with millions of road traffic accidents each year, it wouldn't be surprising to learn that one of the biggest hazards in such situations doesn't come from outside the vehicle, but rather from loose objects and unsecured cargo that can transform from benign innocent articles to lethal projectiles in an instant. Various studies and crash simulations have shown that items left improperly loaded and unrestrained could become airborne, increasing the dangers in a crash or sudden stop. Although planning and proper loading of cargo may help reduce additional incidents, enforcing safety through the use of a well-designed load-rated securement system could be effective in the prevention of loose objects from becoming projectiles.
Checking the blind spots.
Whether you're loading up for a holiday vacation, a business trip or just a regular day at work, securing cargo in the vehicle is of great importance for all the people on board. This was proven in a Crash Test conducted by the largest automobile club in Europe, German-based ADAC (Allgemeiner Deutscher Automobil-Club e.V.). Based on the simulation aimed to project the dangers of loose cargo within the vehicle in a crash or a sudden stop using a BMW 5 body (built 1997-2004) equipped with 2 adult dummies in front and typical pieces of items as cargo in the backseat and hatch, every object in the vehicle that can be propelled in a frontal crash of only 50 km/h speed has an impact of 30 to 50 times its weight force (weight) to the front - the human lumbar, and worst case the heads of front occupants do not hold the stand, while articles correctly wrapped and tied, based on the same test metrics, caused only slight damage.
Safety expert, Sean Kane of Safety Research and Strategies, in an interview with ABC’s Good Morning America back in 2010, estimated that ordinary objects in cars and trucks are responsible for 13,000 injuries each year. At 55 miles per hour, a 20-pound object hits with 1,000 pounds of force — so powerful that a suitcase can literally seer the arm of a crash test dummy. "From head impacts to serious internal injuries, it’s a wide range depending on the severity of the crash," Sean Kane of Safety Research and Strategies told GMA.
Facts right on your dashboard
"The number of road traffic deaths continues to climb, reaching 1.35 million in 2016". - Global Status Report on Road Safety 2018, World health Organization
According to the recently published GLOBAL STATUS REPORT ON ROAD SAFETY 2018 by the World Health Organization (WHO), "The number of road traffic deaths continues to climb, reaching 1.35 million in 2016. The data presented in this report show that progress has been achieved in important areas such as legislation, vehicle standards and improving access to post-crash care. This progress has not, however, occurred at a pace fast enough to compensate for the rising population and rapid motorization of transport taking place in many parts of the world. At this rate, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) target 3.6 to halve road traffic deaths by 2020 will not be met."
In a published statement by WHO General-Director, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that one of the most heartbreaking statistics in the 2018 report is that road traffic injury is the leading cause of death for people aged between 5 and 29 years. The report also cited road traffic injury as the eighth leading cause of death for all age groups surpassing HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and diarrhoeal diseases.
"Strengthening legislation to mitigate key risk factors is recognized by the majority of governments as an important strategy to improve road safety, as evidenced by the 149 countries that have designated lead agencies with responsibilities that include enacting and assessing traffic laws. While too many countries still lack legislation that appropriately addresses risks such as speeding, drink-driving, the use of helmets, seatbelts and child restraints, since 2014 progress has been made in a number of these areas. Overall 22 additional countries have amended their laws on one or more risk factors to bring them in line with best practices. This translates to an additional one billion people who are now covered by effective road traffic laws.",?Global Status Report on road safety 2018 by World Health Organization.
Shifting into gears
Undeniably, road safety has been recognized to be a worldwide priority in diminishing the general population rate of casualties. Effective legislation, proactive precautions, safer roads, safer vehicles, and accessible post-crash care are currently existing, however, we are still far from meeting the global expectations and reaching the goal of reduced needless fatalities, injuries, and disabilities caused by road traffic crashes. What else we need are different interventions that would enforce additional road safety such as new safety innovations and its strict implementation that we have seen revolutionized road safety through seatbelts and other protective gears. An area just right to be focused on is the prevention of loose cargo within a vehicle from becoming projectiles during unfortunate road incidents, which would definitely impact the matter of passenger and driver's safety.
Cargo restraint systems and load securement equipment are currently available in the market; however, the lack of quality products that are compliant with road safety standards, sustainable, cost-effective and innovative, maybe a reason why we are not achieving the optimum safety while travelling with cargo in our vehicles.
Multi-zone Solution.
Quarantine Restraints, one of the companies leading the cargo securement industry, has been enforcing cargo, passenger and general vehicle safety through their engineer-certified cargo restraint systems for years now. The company, headed by Ben Crowe, has seen the need for an innovative system in securing cargo, initially, for work vehicle fleets?transporting cargo on the road. From Interior and Exterior Restraint System for light-duty pick-up to off-road UTV cargo securement, Quarantine Restraints has been setting the standard when it comes to safety on the road and worksite. And as part of their continued efforts in improving safety, Quarantine Restraints is set to launch its latest load securement innovation, dedicated to reinforcing safety on both fleets and end-users of SUVs (Sport-Utility Vehicle).
"The Quarantine SUV restraint system was next in line to develop after our light-duty pick-up interior and exterior restraint systems, that we've already brought to the market with the mission to solve the same growing safety concerns around unsecured Cargo. Aside from the quality of materials & design that surpassed needed regulations, innovation and functionality of the product are amongst the critical parts of our product development. We want to produce a system that would cater to both the needs of work fleet operators and end-users. We also paid attention to understand the components and structures of most SUVs to ensure that we are maximizing all the opportunities to make this product as functional and as user-friendly as possible." Ben Crowe, Director at Quarantine Restraints.
One factor that makes the Quarantine Restraints SUV Cargo Net stand out, is its multi-functionality. According to Crowe, the SUV Securement System, compatible with most SUVs, is not just your typical cargo net or tie downs. "Our SUV load securement is designed with a 2-in-1 function, a restraint system that converts into two configurations”. This particular restraint system can be set up both in the SUV Cab and/or the Hatch. In this way, we are providing optimal securements of your cargo?whether placed in the back hatch area or the cab area. This feature makes it very versatile and suitable for both fleet and end-users". Crowe added.
The Quarantine Restraints SUV securement system is designed based on the actual needs of users. In fact, some of its features are inspired by the inputs of Ben Crowe's sister, based on her daily frustrations and worries as a mother when it comes to stowing away cargo in her SUV, such as her kids' sports equipment and typical items to pack on a trip or a vacation. The convertibility aspect of the SUV restraint system is indeed a key feature of this equipment in ensuring maximum safety both for Fleets and end-users.
"The SUV Restraint System is built using 1000 Denier Coated CORDURA and 1.75-inch polyester webbing interlocked with industrial-grade box and cross stitches. We came up with a unique method of utilizing the back hatch door latch as an anchor point for the restraint system while it is set up in the hatch configuration. We design the hatch securement strap to be removed when the restraint is used as a mid-vehicle backseat restraint when containing goods on the seat. The Cobra buckle straps loop the buckle around the shoulder straps of the OEM seat belt creating a secondary set of anchor points when the restraint is not in the cab seat configuration. Each system comes with adjustable tie-down straps for the two bottom corners of the restraint that are equipped with high-grade aluminum carabiners that provide optimal usability and ease-of-use while complying with all DOT and NACSS requirements". Crowe ended.
Quarantine Restraints partnered with Transport Canada on the trial and development testings of the SUV Restraint System for their vehicle fleets.
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Change is due, but not the oil.
Aside from the effective legislation and government efforts in enforcing safer traffic and roads, imposing driver discipline through proper loading of cargo in the vehicle would also be helpful in preventing loads from becoming projectiles. Government and private entities are constantly pushing for public awareness of the risks involved with unsecured cargo by recommending tips on proper loading. Some recommendations by German automobile club, ADAC, on properly loading your vehicle with cargo to diminish dangers in an event of a sudden stop or crash are listed below:
It's time to tune up.
According to Newton's first law of motion, "An object will remain at rest or in uniform motion in a straight line unless acted upon by an external force", the same principle of physics that applies to what happens to unsecured articles within the vehicle during a crash or a sudden stop, transforming these harmless objects into fatal projectiles.
The cargo securement industry barely receives the attention it deserves – when it really is one of the great opportunities we must leverage to save more lives around the world.
Various research papers and studies have shown how much damaging loose cargo in the vehicle can be, and its impact on the increasing rate of road traffic mortality and injury.?While it is true that the risk of injury can be easily prevented when the loading of the vehicle takes a little more time and planning, innovative restraint systems and efficient implementation of cargo securement policies should also be highly considered in enforcing optimal road traffic safety. A conference paper entitled, "The dangers of loose objects in the car: Challenges and opportunities for ubiquitous computing", suggests that, based on their findings,?"despite being generally aware of potential risks, considerations of convenience, easy access, and lack of in-the-moment awareness lead people to continue to place objects in dangerous locations in cars". This proves that benign articles in the vehicle are easily underestimated and overlooked by drivers and passengers themselves until they become lethal projectiles - enough reason to enforce public awareness on the significance of proper loading with the aid of robust restraint systems, and to empower innovation in the cargo restraint industry. The cargo securement industry barely receives the attention it deserves – when it really is one of the great opportunities we must leverage to save more lives around the world. In conclusion, road safety efforts should be brought to a global scale through unceasing education, effective innovation, and efficient implementation.
"The upcoming Third Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety in Sweden in February 2020 will be a key opportunity to take a strategic view and set a road safety agenda for the next decade, including setting a new global target on fatalities". -WHO 2018
REFERENCES AND CITATIONS:
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https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=128062&page=1
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https://www.adac.de/rund-ums-fahrzeug/ausstattung-technik-zubehoer/ladungssicherung/ladung-sichern/?redirectId=quer.Ladung+richtig+sichern
https://www.safetytalkideas.com/safetytalks/motor-vehicle-safety-loose-cargo/
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Global status report on road safety 2018. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2018. Licence: CC BYNC-SA 3.0 IGO.(https://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/road_safety_status/2018/en/)
https://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/Newt.html
Avrahami, Daniel & T. Yeganyan, Michael & LaMarca, Anthony. (2011). The danger of loose objects in the car: Challenges and opportunities for ubiquitous computing. UbiComp'11 - Proceedings of the 2011 ACM Conference on Ubiquitous Computing. 173-176. 10.1145/2030112.2030136. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/221568480_The_danger_of_loose_objects_in_the_car_Challenges_and_opportunities_for_ubiquitous_computing
Mandell, Samuel & Kaufman, Robert & Mack, Christopher & M Bulger, Eileen. (2010). Describing a Problem: Rear Seatback Failure and Unsecured Cargo. Prehospital and disaster medicine. 25. 152-7. 10.1017/S1049023X00007895. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/44597415_Describing_a_Problem_Rear_Seatback_Failure_and_Unsecured_Cargo
https://www.nsc.org/road-safety/get-involved/road-to-zero