Tragic Crash Kills Two and Injures Three in Franklin County in North Carolina

FRANKLIN COUNTY, NC- Abc11.com writes that a head-on collision killed two people and injured three others in Franklin County on NC-96 close to Ridgewood Road. The incident occurred in the evening when a Volkswagen drifted into oncoming traffic and struck a Honda SUV. 

The drivers both died at the scene. Two individuals in the Volkswagen and one in the SUV suffered injuries. Police have not yet released information regarding the identities of the victims. 

Head-on collisions cause excessive forces on the vehicles involved and on the passengers as well. While automobile manufacturers work to make cars as safe as possible for consumers, there are certain circumstances in which there is little that can be done to protect occupants. In high-speed impacts, the car will not be capable of protecting people from the forces that will be exerted on their bodies. 

When a car receives a five-star safety rating for front end impacts, that means that the vehicle performs well when it strikes another vehicle of about the same size head-on at speeds no higher than 40 miles per hour. Needless to say, there are plenty of places where the speed limit is above 40 miles per hour, and drivers in areas zoned with 40 miles an hour speed limits often travel at higher speeds. Once vehicles hit 43 miles per hour, the chances of occupants surviving a head-on collision drop significantly. Avoiding a head-on collision can be challenging because drivers can quickly and without warning drift into your lane of traffic. Roadway design could protect people from these crashes if it required that any road with a speed limit above 40 miles per hour have a median to separate opposing lanes of traffic. 

Accident News is a safety and education initiative from Montlick & Associates, designed to help people better understand and thereby avoid common accident causes.  To learn more about our injury prevention programs, including iridesafe.com - click here. We hope you are never in an accident, but if you or family member are injured, call Montlick & Associates 24/7 for your free consultation at 1-800-LAW-NEED (1-800-529-6333) or use our live chat at Montlick.com.

Sources:https://abc11.com/traffic/2-killed-3-hurt-in-franklin-county-head-on-crash/5790972/ and https://www.thecarcrashdetective.com/how-to-survive-a-head-on-collision-slow-down-to-below-43mph/