The Hamad Injury Prevention Programme (HIPP) at Hamad Medical Corporation’s (HMC) Hamad Trauma Centre has warned residents about the hazards of driving with passengers in an open sunroof.
Dr Rafael Consunji, director of the HIPP, the community outreach arm of HMC’s Hamad Trauma Centre, noted that passengers, especially young children, are exposed to extremely high risk of severe injury and death if they are standing in an open sunroof in the event of a collision or even a sudden turn or stop.
Dr Rafael Consunji, director of the HIPP, the community outreach arm of HMC’s Hamad Trauma Centre, noted that passengers, especially young children, are exposed to extremely high risk of severe injury and death if they are standing in an open sunroof in the event of a collision or even a sudden turn or stop.
Dr Rafael Consunji
“With the cooler weather, more motorists are not only driving with their windows open but even with children being allowed to ride in open sunroofs while the vehicle is moving. Allowing any unrestrained passenger, but especially children, to extend their hands/arms and head outside of the vehicle is extremely risky for several reasons,” said Dr Consunji.
Dr Consunji maintained that an unrestrained child who is not in a size-appropriate car seat or seatbelt has three times the risk of severe injury or death in a car crash or sudden stop from high speed. He explained if the child is allowed to extend any part of his/her body from an open window then the child is exposed to additional risk – as they expose their head, hands or arms to direct trauma from other vehicles, roadside structures, and even pedestrians, adding that the chance of ejection from the vehicle is significantly increased.
“Allowing children to stand in open sunroofs adds additional risk by exposing them to overhead signs and tree branches, plus an even greater chance of ejection and being pinned and crushed underneath the vehicle, in the event of a rollover. Rollovers are one of the most common causes of road traffic injury in Qatar,” pointed out, Dr Consunji.
According to Dr Consunji, it is important for parents and families to remember that one of the most important things they can teach and demonstrate to their children is the consistent use of a seatbelt and size-appropriate car seat, on every journey, no matter how short or at what speed.
“Oftentimes, it is the sudden and unexpected behaviour of other motorists that can transform a routine journey into a nightmare experience. Whether or not a passenger is restrained properly will dictate whether they will be injured, or even die, as a result of a car crash,” added, Dr Consunji.
