Here at our Wichita chiropractic care clinic, Auburn Hills Chiropractic, we treat patients who have suffered car accident injuries. As the winter weather rapidly moves in, the number of auto accident treatment cases we see starts to rise. We will experience some quite cold weather here in the Wichita and Goddard areas soon, so our chiropractor wanted to share some tips about avoiding car accidents at this time of year.

Drive When You Must

When the roads are full of snow, slush, sleet, and are just generally more difficult to navigate, this is not the right time to take a lot of unnecessary trips. These type of road conditions account for a large number of the accident cases that our chiropractor, Dr. Jacob Holdren, sees every winter. When you can avoid the nasty road conditions, stay home!

Keep Windows Clear

Good visibility is an important part of driving safely in winter weather. Keep the windshield as clear as possible, and run the wipers continuously if needed. Never let snow or sleet accumulate as it can severely diminish what you can see.

Avoid Slamming Breaks

When you slam the breaks on you are more likely to skid, and the vehicle can spin out and go completely out of your control. When you need to use the breaks, apply slow and controlled pressure and avoid slamming on the breaks if at all possible.

Avoiding Accidents and Whiplash

Whiplash is one of the most common car accident injuries that our chiropractor treats. Whiplash occurs when a severe jerking motion causes damage to the soft tissue of the neck and upper back area. The back and neck vertebrae may be moved out of the proper alignment, causing neck pain, back pain, or a painful headache. Treatment for whiplash pain can allow for symptom relief within the first few visits to our clinic, but we always like to tell patients that while we are very glad to see them, of course we would prefer that they had never been injured at all!

Use these tips to help avoid injury and to drive safely during the winter.

Do you have any wintertime driving safety tips to share?