Injuries sustained in a collision often prove fatal. Fortunately, though, they are largely predictable and, with the right gear, entirely avoidable or at least manageable. When an impacting force, such as in a vehicle accident, an assault, or a bullet stopped by armor, strikes a body component, it causes a blunt trauma, also known as blunt force trauma or non-penetrating trauma. The opposite of blunt trauma is penetrating trauma, which happens when an item enters a body tissue through a cut or puncture in the skin. Blunt trauma can cause various injuries, including bruising, internal bleeding, broken bones, etc.

Wearing bulletproof vests and plate carriers is one technique to lessen the severity of or even avoid deadly blunt impact injuries. Level III and above NIJ-rated plate carriers are not your average plate carrier. For the first time, rifle bullets can be deflected by Level III body armor. Metal plates, as opposed to softer plastic or rubber ones, are typically used to make this vest style. A Level III vest can take six rounds from a 7.62×51 NATO cartridge, moving up to 2780 feet per second without damage.

The next vest up is level IV, which offers the maximum protection. Someone wearing body armor will nevertheless feel the force of a bullet’s impact. Instead of being localized to one location, this feeling will permeate the entire physical being. The plate carrier has multiple layers, which work together to deflect incoming fire. As the bullet passes through each “net,” its velocity decreases until it eventually stops. As with any plate carrier, the plate carrier’s shell is bent at the site of impact. After penetrating the vest, bullets spread out at their points. The bullet’s energy is decreased even further by this procedure. It’s a phenomenon we dub “mushrooming.”

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