As the title says, I’ve heard that putting your feet on the dashboard is more dangerous when you get in a car accident. I prefer to sit like this in the passenger seat, but some people have told me I am more likely to break my spine or legs in this position.
About 20 years ago, I knew a woman who had to have her leg amputated after a bad car accident. I remember she told me she was sitting the “proper” way too. So, #1) Is it true that putting your feet up in a moving car is that much worse for your body; and #2) Can you explain how sitting properly in a car helps prevent damage or injury to the body?
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If the airbag goes off it’s going to Launch your knees into your face, regardless if your legs would normally bend that far.
Also if your torso is sitting much lower than the normal sitting position the you may slip through the seat belt and end up stuffed in the footwell.
When you put your feet on the dashboard, you are putting yourself in a very vulnerable position in the event of a car accident. The force of the accident can cause your knees to slam into the dashboard, potentially breaking bones and causing serious injury.
When you sit properly in a car with your feet on the floor, you are in a much safer position. Your seatbelt is designed to hold you in place and protect you from the force of the accident. If you put your feet on the dashboard, the seatbelt cannot properly do its job and you may be thrown around the car, increasing your risk of injury.
In addition to the increased risk of injury to your legs and knees, sitting with your feet on the dashboard can also cause spinal injuries. The force of the accident can cause your upper body to be thrown forward, potentially damaging your spine.
In short, it is much safer to sit properly in a car with your feet on the floor. This allows the seatbelt to properly do its job and protects you from the potential dangers of a car accident.
You’re more likely to experience a plevic fracture if you sit incorrectly and pelvic fractures can be deadly due to blood loss. You’re more likely to experience them with your feet up on the dash then down in the foot well because the safety systems like airbags and seatbelts are designed to work on a properly seated body.
Yes it is true, and the answers you already have are excellent. You don’t want your knees jammed in to your face. This is hard on the knees and on the face.
Also, be careful about drawing conclusions from anecdotal evidence. There are cases where someone wearing a seatbelt likely had a better outcome than they would have had with a seatbelt on, but this is a fluke and represents a tiny percentage of cases compared to the majority of the time when a seatbelt is beneficial and conducive to human life. I knew a guy who would still be alive today had he not been partially ejected and pinned under his own car.
Doing the correct thing doesn’t guarantee a good outcome, but doing the wrong thing almost always results in a worse outcome.
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It’s an X-ray of a guy who had his feet on the dash during a wreck.
Don’t base your decisions on what one person told you twenty years ago. Base it on proper science that has examined thousands of car accidents. Sure, you can get badly hurt in a car accident even if you sit correctly. But that doesn’t mean this person you talked to would have been better off if she’d had her feet up on the dashboard. And *even if* in this particular accident, her leg might have been saved if she had sat with her feet up on the dash (which might be possible in some exceptional cases), that doesn’t mean that sitting like that is a good idea in general.
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