Feet on the dash and air bags do not play well.

[ZR]

We all know the general positioning one should place their body in while driving a car, but for some reason, we let that all fly out the window when riding shotgun. With a false sense of security, we compromise a car's carefully-designed safety system by throwing our legs on the dash, sitting sideways, or leaning so far back you appear to be napping.
Unfortunately, that life of seating ignorance caught up with Audra Tatum (http://www.cbsnews.com/news/after-painful-crash-mom-warns-passengers-to-keep-feet-off-of-the-dashboard/), a mother of three from Walker County, Georgia. According to CBS News (http://www.cbsnews.com/news/after-painful-crash-mom-warns-passengers-to-keep-feet-off-of-the-dashboard/), on August 5th, 2015, Tatum was driving with her husband to pick up their kids when a car cut in front of them, causing them to get into a T-bone accident (http://www.thedrive.com/watch-this/13057/intense-video-shows-police-bystanders-pulling-victims-from-burning-cadillac?iid=sr-link8). The airbags (http://www.thedrive.com/sheetmetal/12740/ford-seeks-to-avoid-recalling-2-5-million-vehicles-for-airbag-issues?iid=sr-link1) deployed on both cars and all the occupants walked away with just scratches and bruises...except for Tatum. She was left with a broken nose, ankle, arm, and femur, all because she had her legs crossed and on the dash.
When the accident occurred, the airbag's force violently threw her right leg towards her face, causing the thigh and ankle to bend and snap. The compound femur fraction and broken ankle meant she had to be carefully extricated from her Ford Fusion (http://www.thedrive.com//sheetmetal/10332/consumer-reports-really-likes-the-2017-ford-fusion?iid=sr-link3). (Tatum had reportedly been warned by her husband that this could be the end result of her habits, but she didn't heed his warnings.)

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Two years later, and Tatum is still struggling to handle everyday tasks and was unable to return to work, according to CBS. She is now dedicating the majority of her time to remind people how they should sit in a car.



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[92redragtop]

See this all the time on the roads, especially the highways (cottage country traffic) and that's my first thought - their feet will take the brunt of the explosion.

[ZR]

So preventable.

[StAnger]

Stupidity is always rewarded.

[fast Ed]

There was a similar article in the Globe & Mail a few years ago, a young Canadian woman in her early 20s I believe who suffered permanent damage ... now prone to fits of anger and operates at the mental capacity of an early teen.

[True Blue]

Sorry, I have no pity for such stupidity. Feet belong on the floor board not on the dash. A firefighter I know, told me a story that happened many years ago where a lady lost one of her legs because she had it resting on the side mirror. The vehicle was involved in a freak accident and the leg was found 200ft away from the scene. Hearing shit like that, you never forget!

[Ponyryd]

Heard about this on the radio today, they said she didn't have her seatbelt on either. I don't have much sympathy for her, this shouldn't need to be explained to people.

[redo75]

I have to agree. She could have lost both her feet when air bags go off. Lucky for her, must have been weak air bags. Maybe a GM product.

[Ponyryd]

^Lol, sez Ford Fusion

[RedSN]

...they said she didn't have her seatbelt on either.
Feet on the ground, but there's the bigger problem IMO, no seat belt.

Co-worker when I was in Timmins got into an accident. Ice on the road, locked up the brakes and slid a long distance before hitting another car. His father was in the passenger seat and his natural reaction was to brace himself for impact. He extended his arms and put his hand on the dash. Airbags went off and broke his wrists. It was not that hard of an impact. If it weren't for the airbags there would have been no injuries.

Not a fan of these secondary restraint systems to try and save people that are too stupid and/or ignorant to wear their seat belts. Crumple zones and a good seat belt instead of an explosion in my face please and thank you.

[Scrape]

So many warnings about this for years and they still do dumb shit like this.

[Ontariomystic]

No sympathy here. People that feel it is okay to put feet on the dash are the same people that have no respect for vehicles and leave door dings, park like a**holes, throw garbage out windows...live and learn.

[yllrgt]

i've always wondered what the effect would be if an airbag travelling a couple hundred miles an hour slammed into someones face while they were wearing glasses .

[Scrape]

Well said.
No sympathy here. People that feel it is okay to put feet on the dash are the same people that have no respect for vehicles and leave door dings, park like a**holes, throw garbage out windows...live and learn.