Why you don’t put your legs on the dash while riding in a car

You see people do it all the time. Sticking their feet on the dashboard or out the windows of a moving vehicle. You might think it’s relaxing to have your wind blow through your toes but it can all end in tragedy. Common sense would make one think that going from 35mph to a dead stop might send anything that is in front of you in the vehicle straight toward your body. This includes your legs. That’s what happened to one girl in Wales.

While taking a trip on the freeway the occupants of a car got into a minor accident. The air bags, which are meant to protect you, ended up injuring one of the passengers. Her legs were up on the dash and the due to the impact her hip broke in the socket and her other leg got dislocated. Her foot ended up flying toward her face breaking her face, nose, femur, and her ankles.

Here is an X-ray of horrific injuries sustained to the front seat passenger who had their feet on the dashboard at the time of a collision. If you see your passenger doing it stop driving and show them this. pic.twitter.com/f3XCT8ePvi

— ??????? Sgt 121 Ian Price ??????? (@DPGoSafeSkipper) January 22, 2020

Everyone else in the car walked away with minor scratches while the girl became permanently disabled. Her name is Audra Tatum and she told reporters,

Basically my whole right side was broken, and it’s simply because of my ignorance… I’m not Superman. I couldn’t put my foot down in time.

The Chattanooga Fire Department which is located in Tennesee stated

Airbags deploy between 100 & 220 MPH. If you ride with your feet on the dash and you’re involved in an accident, the airbag may send your knees through your eye sockets.

Hopefully, people will think twice about sticking their feet up on the dash. Do you ever ride with your feet up or out of the window? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.