Feet on dash unsafe, police warn

Front-seat passengers who travel with their feet resting on the dashboard risk being ‘‘folded in half at velocity’’, police say.

Blenheim community constable Russ Smith said police had noticed the trend in Marlborough. ‘‘It seems to be a common thing among some young people. It’s seen as being a comfortable way to sit in the passenger seat,’’ Smith said. But sitting in that manner could exacerbate injuries in a crash, he said.

‘‘This is an incredibly dangerous way to travel because in a crash the passenger is likely to slide out from under the confines of the seatbelt, leading to more serious and sometimes lifethreatening injuries.

‘‘The other complication is that in the sudden impact of a crash, as the passenger is thrown forward, legs up on the dashboard are either pushed backwards into the person’s pelvis causing catastrophic injuries, or the individual is folded in half at velocity, causing a multitude of injuries that can include leg, pelvic, spinal, chest and head injuries.’’

Travelling in a vehicle with your feet up on the dashboard was dangerous. It wasn’t a ‘‘prolific issue’’, but something they had become aware of.

‘‘Anyone who does this is encouraged to stop the practice.’’

Smith said driver distraction had been an ‘‘obvious contributing factor’’ in about a dozen crashes in Marlborough during the past few weeks. On Monday just before 4pm there was a multivehicle crash in Sinclair St, Blenheim, near the Alfred St intersection. A Nissan car collided with the rear end of a Toyota car, which was pushed into a stationary Toyota van in front of the other two vehicles. There were no injuries reported.

‘‘Distraction on the part of the Nissan driver was a major contributor to the crash,’’ Smith said.