Any sort of car crash can be damaging, but T-bones are among the worst of all. They are particularly frequent at intersections, where vehicles are most likely to cross each other’s direction of travel.
Let’s look at what makes these crashes so dangerous for a vehicle’s occupants.
The impact occurs closer to your body
When a driver hits the rear of your car, you have a certain amount of trunk space between you and the point of impact on your rear fender. If you run into the back of another vehicle, you have the hood of your car between you and the impact point on your front fender. When they hit you side-on, the impact is right next to you on the door so there is less space for the impact to diminish before you feel it.
Vehicle protection is more designed for front and rear collisions
Modern cars are designed with front and rear ends that will give way in a crash. It’s a totally different concept from how they built cars in the past when it was believed a strong metal fender would fend off bumps. Sacrificing part of the car in a crash means less crash force transmits to the people inside.
Airbags are also focused on protecting against forward and rear impact. While some cars do have airbags in the doors to protect against hits from the side, it’s still not that common.
Seat belts are also designed to hold you against the seat in a forward or rear impact. The seats also have little side protection and this includes child seats. Testing child seats for side impact was not even required until a 2022 law gave manufacturers until this current year, 2025, to comply with doing so.
As T-bone crashes often lead to severe injuries, it will be important to learn about your compensation options if one occurs.
