Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments

adfthgchjg t1_it4po38 wrote

Reply to comment by Ok-disaster2022 in TIL in 2003, 12yo Auri Allen was featured on Ripley's Believe It or Not due to his massive size, nicknamed Baby Shaq. By 2006, he was regarded as one of the top 5 basketball players in the country, until a car crash paralyzed him. He later became a Head Coach and founded his own basketball academy. by SlipperyThong

Excellent observation! On a related note, it turns out despite all the modern car safety features, many people get paralyzed when they’re involved in a rollover car crash. They slide up in their seat, hit their head against the roof, and compress their cervical spine. Only race car 5 point harnesses protect against that scenario. And the taller one is, the more likely this is to happen.

19

RustyShackleford9142 t1_it51uz3 wrote

When I bought my 2004 lifted wrangler, it came with sets of 5 point harnesses. I just use them everytime.

I don't even push the jeep...

4

nonfiction-n8 t1_itzayrg wrote

When I was 17 I was in a baaad rollover car crash. I never knew about the risk of being paralyzed until now… just makes me feel more lucky to be alive

3

MechanicalCheese t1_it67sgz wrote

The last bit is a little surprising to me. I would think the taller you were, the less distance you had to fall. Assuming the roof doesn't crush in too far, the top of my head is generally a couple inches from it. That seems like a far easier impact to absorb than dropping a foot. I'd expect weight to have a much greater impact than height in terms of injury risk.

2

juicythiccdrumstick t1_it6kdh2 wrote

Neck bones are all about the same size regardless of height. 5’3” woman weighing 130 pounds is much less force on the neck than a 7’2” 380 pound man.

1

MechanicalCheese t1_it89wj7 wrote

That why I mentioned weight being the bigger factor - I expect a 5'8" 380lb man would have a comparable if not worse risk.

As for size - here's an example (as I'm packing for a camping trip today) - if I drive down a bumpy road with a glass bottle in a tall cooler, it's much more likely to break than in a short cooler, as it can't so easily develop and speed before impact with space constraints.

Supporting your body weight with your neck is never good, but being dropped on your head is a lot worse.

I'm having trouble finding data on rollovers in particular. For most vehicles accident injuries, shorter folks are far worse off.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3217531/

1