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Woman’s story will make you think twice about putting feet on dashboard

Posted at 8:45 PM, Aug 08, 2017
and last updated 2017-08-08 20:45:55-04

WALKER COUNTY, Ga. – A Georgia woman is speaking out to help others avoid the gruesome injuries she suffered after the car she was in crashed – while her feet were on the dashboard.

Audra Tatum of Walker County, Georgia, said her husband always warned her about sitting with her feet like that.  But, she didn’t listen to him until they got into a car accident a couple of years ago.

Tatum broke several bones including her ankle, femur and arm. “The airbag went off, throwing my foot up and breaking my nose. I was looking at the bottom of my foot facing up at me,” she told CBS News. It took her over a month to start walking again, and she is still recovering two years later. She’s hoping others learn from her mistake.

Tatum isn’t the only one warning about this. The Chattanooga Fire Departmentposted a warning on Facebook, titled “Something You Need to Know”:

While traveling this weekend, I noticed many passengers had their feet on the dashboard of their car. 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. This post was viewed thousands of times last year, but it’s worth repeating. And yes, the driver and passenger should also be wearing seat belts too! *From Twitter post from Shane O’Connor @oconnorshane.