Vehicle and Occupant Safety and the CORVUS® Box

Brockville, ON (OPENPRESS) February 1, 2010 -- Read any review on vehicle safety and safety features, and the primary focus will be on traction control, vehicle stability and air bags. Other considerations, such as car (child) seat anchors, seat belt adjusters, ABS, etc., will likely be included in the review as well. Very few, if any, will discuss the dangers of loose cargo.

While loose cargo is a concern in any vehicle, it can be a bigger concern in vehicles with an exposed cargo area (e.g. SUV, mini-van, station wagon). In the event of a mishap, collision or roll-over, loose cargo can become a projectile and can injure or even kill occupants of the vehicle.

The following is a true story as told by Hal G. The vehicle type and location have been purposely removed.

“On a winter night in 2006, I had to travel into town, about 10 miles away, to go to the hardware store. On the highway, half way to the store, I ran into freezing rain and adjusted my speed accordingly. Shortly before exiting the highway, a mid-size SUV passed me. I could tell by the noise from his tires that he was having trouble controlling his vehicle. I learned the next day that the driver of the SUV had lost control, hit a concrete barrier on the highway and was killed. What killed him? It wasn’t the impact of the collision. It was a loose item in the back of the SUV that, upon impact, flew from the rear of the vehicle and struck the driver in the head.”

What could the driver have done to better protect himself? Slowing down may have helped, but more importantly, securing the loose cargo may have saved his life.

There are a number of options available that help in securing cargo. Many vehicles with open cargo areas now come with, or offer as an option, cargo shades. The intent of these is to keep your cargo out of sight of prying eyes. They tend not to offer a great deal of protection in stopping cargo from becoming a projectile in the event of a collision. Another option is a cargo net; they can contain cargo from flying around in the case of an accident. However, without the cargo shade, the contents are still visible.

The preferred choice would be a CORVUS® box. With a CORVUS® box, you can keep your cargo “out of sight, out of mind” and secure the box to the floor of the vehicle, thereby reducing the risk of injury or death as a result of projectiles. CORVUS® boxes also allow easy insertion and removal from the cargo area of a vehicle – no installation required. Designed so most adults can easily manage them, CORVUS® boxes are 30 inches wide and weigh approximately 19 pounds when empty (Caution should be used when the box is loaded as the additional weight may make it too heavy to safely manoeuvre).

CORVUS® boxes also offer the unique capability to “split” and act as a bed-liner to reduce the potential of the vehicle’s interior becoming soiled.

One thing that a CORVUS® box cannot protect against is a driver or passenger that becomes a projectile in an accident. Please remember to buckle up!

For additional information, visit www.corvusboxes.com.