What principle explains why passengers lurch forward when a vehicle stops suddenly?

The principle that explains why passengers lurch forward when a vehicle stops suddenly is inertia. Inertia is defined as the tendency of an object to resist any change in its state of motion. According to Newton's first law of motion, an object at rest will stay at rest, and an object in motion will continue moving at a constant velocity unless acted upon by an external force.

When a vehicle is moving and suddenly comes to a stop, the vehicle itself experiences a change in motion due to the braking force, but the passengers inside the vehicle, who were previously moving with the same speed as the vehicle, continue to move forward at that same speed due to their inertia. This results in the sensation of being thrown forward relative to the vehicle, as they are no longer being carried along with it.

In contrast, friction refers to the resistance that one surface or object encounters when moving over another. While friction between the passengers and the vehicle helps to slow them down when the vehicle stops, it does not explain the initial forward lurch that happens before that friction has taken effect. Acceleration relates to the change in velocity, but in this context, it is the absence of acceleration that emphasizes the idea of inertia. Gravity, while it acts on both the passengers and