Jeep Grand Cherokee and Ford Explorer Receive Worst Possible Rating in Passenger Side Crash Test

Jeep Grand Cherokee and Ford Explorer Receive Worst Possible Rating in Passenger Side Crash Test

As my avid blog followers are already aware, Mid-Atlantic Spinal Rehab & Chiropractic has recently grown to five Baltimore area Chiropractic Clinics. Our locations now serve Baltimore City, Catonsville, Dundalk, and Glen Burnie. We have a total of nine chiropractors and countless other support staff to best serve your headache, neck pain, and back pain needs. It has been an exciting week launching the Dundalk and Glen Burnie locations and we are expecting the momentum of the first week to carry over to this week and beyond.

One of my favorite past times is studying the news and current events, particularly when it relates to auto accident injuries and car crash biomechanics. When I see news stories that cover these topics I usually pay really close attention. Just this past week I saw a story that I found interesting. The story detailed the crash test results for two very popular SUVs, the Jeep Grand Cherokee and the Ford Explorer.

The IIHS (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety) recently tested the top 8 selling SUVs and rated their crashworthiness in a “small overlap front crash test.” This means that the vehicles were accelerated to 40 mph and then struck a barrier head on, where the brunt of the impact was just off the passenger side front wheel. This is meant to mimic a vehicle striking a tree or pole, which is very common in cases of head-on impacts. IIHS found that the Ford Explorer’s passenger side crushed in more than a foot. This leads them to conclude that injuries to the right lower extremity and hip are likely for these impacts. Ford reported that it is a safe vehicle, but they mentioned that a newer updated version of the explorer will be released next year.

The Jeep Grand Cherokee faired even worse than the Explorer. The passenger’s head was found to go through the airbag and to strike the dashboard and the passenger side curtain airbag failed to deploy. For the Jeep Grand Cherokee, the head injuries are thought to be worse than the lower extremity injuries that would also be generated under these conditions.

Unfortunately for both the Ford Explorer and Jeep Grand Cherokees, these cars performed only marginally better when the impact was tested on the driver’s side of the vehicle.

The reason I found this article interesting was because it seems that about half the cars on the roads in Baltimore are either Jeep Grand Cherokees or Ford Explorers. Americans love SUVs and especially with it being summer, I am seeing many more of them on the road lately. Most people tend to think of these SUVs and impenetrable tanks on the road. It gives the drivers and occupants a false sense of security on the road.

While I’m not suggesting you turn these vehicles in and get new ones if you happen to drive them, I am suggesting that you maintain awareness of your surroundings at all times and that you drive cautiously if you are operating or are a passenger in one of these vehicles.

If you, or someone you know, has suffered an injury as a result of a Baltimore, Catonsville, Dundalk, or Glen Burnie auto accident injury, please contact Mid-Atlantic Spinal Rehab & Chiropractic at 443-842-5500. We will get you back on the road to recovery.

Dr. Gulitz

Mid-Atlantic Spinal Rehab & Chiropractic Announces 2 New Clinics, New Clinical Director

As my avid blog followers are already aware, I am a Baltimore Chiropractor with three Chiropractic clinics in and around the Baltimore, MD community. Up until this point the primary focus of the clinics has been on treating spinal pain in Baltimore City. Typically our patients present with headaches, neck pain and back pain. Some are weekend warriors, but many have acute injuries sustained in Baltimore work accidents and Baltimore car accidents. About a year ago we began noticing that patients outside of the city were traveling longer and longer distances to come and see us in our city clinics. After polling several hundred patients we decided that it was time to expand our horizons and open clinics outside of Baltimore City proper. With this in mind, it is with great pleasure that I announce the grand opening of our Dundalk and Glen Burnie clinics, effective June 18, 2018.

The Dundalk Clinic will be operated by Dr. Kaykavoos Kashi D.C. He has worked in both the Fells Point and Park Heights clinics alongside Dr. Gulitz over the past 18 months. When an opportunity came up to purchase Henry Chiropractic from Dr. Paul Henry, he could not resist the opportunity. Dr. Kashi is overseeing extensive renovations in his current clinic, and assures me that it will be ready to start seeing patients in Mid June. Some of you may recognize the name Dr. Kashi in Dundalk. His older brother, Dr. Kiumarce Kashi has been a primary care medical provider in and around Dundalk and Rosedale for nearly 20 years. It seemed only fitting to have another Dr. Kashi extend his brother’s legacy in East Baltimore County. The Dundalk clinic will be serving the communities of Dundalk, Essex, Middle River, and Rosedale. The clinic is located at 1103 North Point Blvd #404, Baltimore, MD 21224. It is conveniently located on the corner of North Point Blvd and Merritt Blvd and is easily accessible by all major forms of transportation. And yes, there is plenty of patient parking as well!

The Glen Burnie clinic will be operated by Drs. Tricia Muneses and Dr. Xavier Touze, of Preferred Care Center. They have been practicing Chiropractic in the Glen Burnie area for over 20 years and are well known in the community for providing great care and patient satisfaction. Their clinic is currently undergoing some upgrades including new wiring for internet, new televisions in the waiting room and exercise rooms, and computer upgrades to keep pace with the advances in healthcare. The Glen Burnie practice is located at 7389 Baltimore Annapolis Blvd, Suite L, Glen Burnie, MD 21061. It is located at the light rail stop in Glen Burnie and it is very accessible by all means of conveyance. And yes, there is plenty of parking at this location, too. Drs. Muneses and Touze are excited to join the Mid-Atlantic Spinal Rehab team and to continue to provide great service to the Glen Burnie community.

As a result of the addition of two new clinics, Dr. Gulitz has recently promoted his associate Chiropractor Dr. Erica Wise to the role of Clinical Director of Mid-Atlantic Spinal Rehab. Dr. Wise’s responsibilities will still be patient care in the Fells Point clinic, but will now extend to overseeing patient care, documentation, and multi-clinic consistency across all five Mid-Atlantic Spinal Rehab & Chiropractic locations. Dr. Wise is excited to embrace her new role and to help the ever-expanding needs of the clinic.

It is with the utmost sincerity that I thank you, the Baltimore community, for your continued patronage and support of Mid-Atlantic Spinal Rehab & Chiropractic. We look to continue to innovate, to improve, and to expand over the next several years to become the number one choice for chiropractic care in and around Baltimore. Thank you.

Dr. Gulitz

Tesla Model X in Autopilot Mode Just Before Fatal Crash

As my avid blog followers are already aware, I am a Baltimore Chiropractor with three Baltimore Chiropractic clinics in Baltimore, MD. We have plans to expand our operations to include Dundalk (Baltimore County) and Glen Burnie (Anne Arundel County) locations shortly, so keep an eye on our blog for an upcoming announcement.

The patients that we see in our clinics typically present with headaches, neck pain, and/or back pain. Sometimes these ailments present from athletic injuries, sometimes from repetitive strain injuries, and other times due to traumatic injuries suffered as a result of Baltimore auto accidents or Baltimore work injuries. Regardless of the cause of these injuries it is our collective goal to correctly diagnose the injuries and to begin treatment right away in order to get the injured party (patient) back to their normal lives as quickly as possible.

One of the things that I like to do is to scan the internet for stories related to automobile safety and automobile trends. As a company we treat so many Baltimore auto accident patients that I feel it is imperative that we stay up on the changes in how cars are designed and how they function on the road around us. I found a recent news story about a Model X Tesla in California that was involved in a fatal crash with a jersey wall while operating in autonomous mode. Tesla reports that this vehicle did have a human occupant behind the wheel and referred to the death as “devastating.” This story is immediately on the heels of another deadly impact that I reported on a few weeks back where an autonomous Uber (this time a Volvo SUV) struck and killed a pedestrian in Tempe, Arizona.

I love technology as much as anyone else. I love the idea of a future where we depend on computers and radars and sensors to deliver us from point A to point B but what we are seeing from the early iterations of autonomous and semi-autonomous driving technology is that the safety is just not there yet. In both the Uber and now the Tesla incidents both vehicles were operating in autonomous mode with drivers behind the wheel. In both instances it is reported that drivers were distracted while operating the vehicle, either looking at their phones, or not paying close attention to other visual or audio cues being produced by their vehicles at or before the time of the impact.

Tesla has reiterated that operating their vehicles in autonomous mode still requires the driver to pay attention to their surroundings and to heed the warnings of the vehicle in order to take over at a moment’s notice. Perhaps these senseless deaths could have been avoided had the vehicle operators been paying more close attention, as opposed to depending on their vehicles from keeping them safe.

The big rhetorical question is – if humans must still be on alert while operating autonomous vehicles, then why do we really need them in the first place? Is it just as a feat for human technological advancement or does it actually cut down on preventable injuries and deaths?

With this now being the second reported fatality associated with autonomous vehicles I suspect there will be more red tape thrown up which will prevent (at least temporarily) the wide spread advancement and adaptation of this technology. I think its smart that we make sure that the technology is ready for everyday driving conditions before its tested in real-world settings. To me, even one fatal crash due to an autonomous vehicle is one too many. Given the opportunity I do not believe I would own or operate a car that drove for me. It will be interesting to see what becomes of this technology in the next few years in light of these tragedies.

If you, or someone you know, has been injured as a result of a Baltimore, Catonsville, Dundalk, or Glen Burnie auto accident, please contact Mid-Atlantic Spinal Rehab & Chiropractic at (443) 842-5500. We’ve got your back on the road to recovery.

Dr. Gulitz

Autonomous Uber Strikes and Kills Pedestrian In Arizona

As my avid blog followers are already aware I am a Baltimore Chiropractor with three Baltimore chiropractic clinics in Baltimore, MD. We treat patients almost exclusively with headaches, neck pain and back pain. Many of our patients have suffered injuries as a result of Baltimore auto accidents and have developed whiplash symptoms. A small subset of our patient population suffer from pedestrian accidents – where they are struck by motor vehicles while walking. Typically these injuries are more severe than typical car accident injuries. That is because humans don’t have bumpers. We are not designed to withstand the forces of vehicles traveling at or above the speed limit. We often see these patients require additional treatment and in some instances, they do not make complete recoveries due to the extent of their injuries.

I recently came across an article that detailed the first reported death as a result of an autonomous vehicle. In Tempe, Arizona, one of Ubers autonomous vehicle test cities, a woman was struck and killed by an autonomous uber SUV. This is obviously terrible news for the deceased and her family and my heart goes out to them due to this terrible tragedy. Interestingly, at the time of the impact, there was a human behind the wheel while the vehicle operated in autonomous mode.

By looking at data from cameras within the car both before and during the impact, police were able to determine that the woman was crossing the street holding a bicycle at approximately 10 p.m. and that the human operator behind the wheel was distracted. She’s shown looking down at least twice before the fatal impact. Although this is merely speculation, it is thought that she was glancing down at her cell phone just before the impact. If you want to see video footage both inside and outside of the vehicle just before the impact, click here. WARNING, it is graphic.

We were told that autonomous vehicles were safe. We were told that they didn’t even need human drivers behind the wheel because of their advanced technologies and sensors. But in this case, Uber has failed us as a society. Not only did the Uber vehicle fail to sense and avoid impacting this woman, but the driver who was supposed to have had her hands hovering above the steering wheel was distracted. She was not alert as we were promised given the nature of this technology.

This tragedy teaches us that self driving cars are still in their infancy. Now with this terrible tragedy, it is likely that red tape and delays will prevent the evolution of this technology out of fear for repeat pedestrian injuries and future deaths. The question that keeps coming up surrounding this technology is – do we really want driver’s to be completely dependent on their vehicle? Do we want to give up the ability for the human mind to anticipate situations and avoid impacts? I for one, do not want to see a day with only autonomous vehicles on the road. While this is the first known example of a terrible tragedy, it proves that the technology, while ubiquitous, is not nearly as safe and ready for mainstream as once thought.

If you, or someone you know, has been injured in a Baltimore auto accident or Baltimore pedestrian injury, please contact Mid-Atlantic Spinal Rehab & Chiropractic at (443) 842-5500. We would be happy to get you back on the road to recovery today.

Dr. Gulitz

Drowsy Driving Causes 8 Times As Many Car Accidents As Previously Thought

As my avid blog followers are already aware I am a Baltimore Chiropractor with three Baltimore Chiropractic clinics in Baltimore, MD. We treat patients with primarily acute musculoskeletal pain. Mainly, we see lots of patients with cervicogenic headaches, axial spine pain, neck pain, mid back pain, and lower back pain. While many of our patients are weekend warriors who strain their necks and backs going too “hard” on a weekend, we also see a lot of auto accident injury patients in our clinics. These patients typically present with whiplash symptoms that may include (but are not necessarily limited to) post-traumatic headaches, cervical (neck) sprain/strain injuries, thoracic spine (mid back) sprain/strain injuries, and lumbar spine (lower back) sprain/strain injuries. We also see lots of extremity injuries depending on the type of crash that these patients endure. We see shoulder, elbow, wrist, hand, finger, hip, knee, ankle, foot, and toe injuries as well.

One of the things that we see this time of year is an increase in the number of injuries sustained in Baltimore auto accidents due to drowsy driving. With daylight savings time beginning last week on March 11, we end up having to “spring ahead” and we lose an hour of sleep. Although its great to have more daylight to enjoy following a work day, the first week or so following daylight savings is usually perilous as more and more Americans, particularly in Baltimore, are deprived an additional hour of sleep. This causes them to delay their reaction time on the road and to cause more motor vehicle collisions than would typically be expected.

Using camera footage from inside the vehicles of more than a thousand drivers AAA conducted a study to try and determine just how likely it is for drowsy driving to be the main culprit for car crashes. AAA concluded that drowsiness was a factor in approximately 9.5-10.8% of crashes, which is about eight times more common than was originally determined by the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) which put the number at 1.4%. AAA suggests that the reason for the disparity in the research is likely due to the fact that police officers who arrive on the seen and help to determine causation can have a difficult or near impossible time trying to determine if drowsiness is a factor unless the driver admits it (which they rarely do).

While doctors generally suggest that adults of driving age sleep 6-8 hours a night, it is thought that more than 35% of drivers on the roads sleep less than that. With less sleep, cognition and reaction time is impaired, which can leads to more car crashes in Baltimore and across the U.S.

Contrary to popular belief, a cup of coffee, a blaring radio, or an open window is not enough to substantially alter a person’s degree of focus for any more than a few moments. The only remedy to drowsiness is sleep. AAA points out that we as a culture need to move away from the notion that its somehow “cool” to stay up late and get up early. Simply put, there’s no substitute for getting ample rest before getting behind the wheel.

AAA suggests that if you must drive you can try to take a short nap before hand. Even 30 minutes of rest can go a long way to enhancing your concentration while you are on the road. They also suggest trying to avoid driving during over night hours where your body is used to sleeping. AAA also suggests that we all get in the habit of “disengaging” from our electronic devices such as smart phones and TVs at least an hour before bed time to allow our bodies to relax which helps us get a more restful sleep.

If you, or someone you know, has been injured in a Baltimore auto accident and have developed headaches, neck pain, or back pain, please contact Mid-Atlantic Spinal Rehab & Chiropractic at (443) 842-5500. We’ll have your back on the road to recovery.

Dr. Gulitz