Imagine if cars didn’t have shock absorbers? Every time the car hit a pothole, your teeth would probably slap together painfully. Every bump in the road would announce itself jarringly. Chiropractor offices would have to expand their waiting rooms to accommodate the increased demand as driving gave more and more people bad backs.

Shock absorbers help to make rides more comfortable. They even protect us from injury while driving over uneven roadways at high speeds. Without shocks, occupants in cars would be tossed back and forth roughly. Along with the rest of the suspension, they make driving a pleasant experience where bumps in the road are hardly noticed. But, they actually do much more than that.

Shocks play a major role in safe driving

Among the occupants of a car is a key occupant known as the driver. And, without shock absorbers, when a bump threw the occupants about roughly, the bump would also throw the driver around. Even with shock absorbers, maintaining control of a car is challenged when taking the car off the road. That’s why off-road vehicles have specialized suspension systems and shocks.

Shock absorbers help drivers to maintain control in normal driving conditions as the vehicle goes over bumps and potholes in the road. But, what about in an emergency?

In an emergency, the shock absorbers help a driver to maintain control, steer and stop as they react to the particular situation that has caused the emergency. Without shock absorbers, when a driver suddenly slams on the brakes, there’s a good chance that the tires will begin to bounce if the suspension and shocks don’t play their part.

Every time a tire bounced off the road, it would lose all traction with the road. Bouncing, therefore, could seriously increase the distance required for a vehicle to come to a stop in an emergency.

The same holds true with steering. If a front tire isn’t in contact with the road, it has zero ability to help steer the vehicle. In an emergency, steering abruptly and effectively is often the difference between safely avoiding or reducing the impact of an accident and having no control to avoid an unsafe situation.

Of course, all cars have shock absorbers. Therefore, there’s nothing to worry about, unless those shock absorbers are worn. And the more they’re worn, they less effective they are in terms of helping a driver to avoid an accident. At the same time, they are also less effective in providing a comfortable ride for the occupants of a car.