Motor vehicle crashes are the number one cause of SCI. Wear a seat belt every time you are in a motor vehicle. Make sure that your children are properly buckled into a child safety seat, booster seat, or seat belt as appropriate.
Keep firearms and ammunition locked in a cabinet or safe when not in use. The second leading cause of SCI is violence, most often related to firearms use.
Prevent falls using a step stool with a grab bar to reach objects on high shelves; installing handrails on stairways; installing window guards to keep young children from falling out of windows; and using safety gates at the top and bottom of stairs when young children are around.

Play sports safely. Wear all required safety gear, and never engage in head-first moves, such as spearing (in football, using the helmet to tackle) or sliding head-first into a base. Avoid hitting the boards with your head in ice hockey. Insist on spotters when performing new or difficult moves in gymnastics.

In spinal cord injury cases it is essential that measures be taken promptly to preserve evidence, review the medical procedures in question, and to enable physicians or other expert witnesses to thoroughly evaluate the accident record and injuries.