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You Won’t Ever Want to Rest Your Feet on the Dashboard!

ByMatsumoto Naoki-January 04, 2021

Some people never think twice before putting their feet up on the dashboard while riding in the front passenger seat. In fact, it seems pretty relaxing and harmless to rest your feet on the dashboard while driving along the highway and enjoying the scenery rolling past. What harm can it do? After all, you are wearing a seatbelt! Well, keep reading to know what kind of danger this seemingly innocuous habit can bring on to you.

Rest Your Feet on the Dashboard: the Danger of This Practice

If your kids, partner, or any other passengers in your car have the habit of not keeping the foot on the floor, you should warn them of these following hazards:

Seatbelt

The belts are there to ensure your safety but they are designed to hold a body that is sitting upright in a seat. When you rest your feet on the dashboard, your posture changes. It leads to the changing of seat belt’s position, so it cannot restrain your body properly when there’s a collision. You can slide out of the belt and land into the footwell in the event of a crash. You may even break out of the windshield if the impact is severe. Such accidents could cause internal injuries or broken ribs and spine.

The seatbelt cannot ensure safety when your feet are on the dash. (photo source: Getty Images)

Airbag

Airbags are in the car for saving lives but these will work properly when you are sitting upright. At the time of a crash, these bags deploy at the force of 200mph and fill up the space between the dash and the seat. So, if your legs are on the dash, the bag can hit your knees with a great force and send them to crash your face. You can sustain eye, facial, and even brain injuries.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0oXXRhY01hs

Watch the video to be aware of how dangerous it is when you rest your feet on Car Dashboard!

Windshield

Even if you disable the airbag feature, this habit will land you into injuries in the event of a collision. Your feet can break through the windshield and you will end up with either broken legs or cuts on them. You can be even amputated if the wound is serious.

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Injuries from low-speed crashes

A passenger reclining the feet on the dashboard is at more risk than others should there be an accident. Even if it’s a low-speed collision with an impact at 40mph or less, that person can be severely injured while others will walk away with minor cuts and bruises.

A minor crash can lead to serious injuries. (photo source: Car Throttle)

Final Words

If you like to rest your feet on the dashboard, discard the habit immediately. If you are driving, on the other hand, it’s your duty to remind everyone to have the feet firmly planted on the floor when the car is in motion.

Matsumoto Naoki is senior car blogger at Car From Japan. Having background in mechanical engineering, he has a unique perspective on a lot of new car innovations. Prior to Car From Japan, Matsumoto was Mechanical Design Engineer at Yajima Plant, Subaru Corporation. His articles provide detailed DIY instructions and how-tos to help you get your new car on the road. If you want to save money and feel more confident when working on your cars, you should not ignore Matsumoto’s sharing posts. He presents driving tips and tricks for everyone through easy-following steps and mechanically but friendly writing.

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