When you’re headed on a road trip with your buddy and you’re the passenger, it’s really tempting to kick back and prop your feet up on the dashboard. It feels jaunty, freewheeling, comfortable and fun – but don’t do it.
Having your feet up on the dashboard may seem cool at the moment, but it’s a recipe for serious or fatal injuries. Here’s why:
Your seatbelt won’t hold you
First of all, the seatbelts in cars are designed to hold occupants in place when they’re properly seated in position – not slid downward and slouched backward with their feet level with their shoulders.
If you end up in a wreck while you’re in that position, the belt cannot protect you. Instead, you’re likely to be injured as you slip downward and the belt catches your body in the wrong spot. Doctors say that paralysis from a spinal column that’s been torn apart isn’t an unlikely result, and neither are things like a ruptured bowl or a torn aorta to your heart.
An airbag can do incredible damage
Depending upon what kind of car you’re in and its age and condition, there may be airbags installed – and those deploy with an incredible amount of force. That force can do some unintentional damage even when your body is at a proper distance from the device.
So much force is involved, that an airbag can easily shatter feet and legs when they burst forth. They can also contort the human body beyond all imagining. Your feet can be pushed into your face and your knees could end up being driven into your eye sockets.
It’s important to do what you can to stay safe out there on the road – because negligent drivers are everywhere. If you end up in a wreck with one, passenger or not, you have the right to seek fair compensation.
