Watch Your Fingers: Most car-related injuries caused by doors

While most of us are aware that 43,000 Americans die each year in car crashes, it's shocking to hear that the unsuspected car door also causes a huge amount of widespread human carnage. According to a report released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, nearly 150,000 people in the U.S. are injured every year by closing car doors. The absurdity doesn't stop there. An estimated 68,000 Americans are cut by a sharp piece of metal or an unfinished interior edge, and another 9,000 are burned by hot antifreeze or radiator fluid. Among those who work on cars, 10,000 are seriously injured when using a jack or hoist, and another 74,000 are harmed by falling parts (or whole vehicles). Improperly load the interior of your vehicle and you may be added to the group of 20,000 people who are hurt by flying objects inside a car. Even lending some muscle to moving a stalled or stuck car can batter you as evident by the 88,000 injured by overexertion (loading/unloading cars or pushing a disabled vehicle). To keep yourself out of the statistics, experts suggest reading the owner's manual before performing auto maintenance, and using basic common sense around vehicles wouldn't hurt either.

[Source: AOL Autos, photo by Michael Harley]