I drove from Vancouver to Kelowna, B.C., this summer with a friend in the front passenger seat. We’ve been friends for more than 20 years, but this was our first road trip together. As soon as we got on the highway, she took her sandals off and put her feet up on my dashboard. We bickered a little and I gave in. I wasn’t thrilled because, well, it’s gross. But could we have been pulled over and charged with something? – Michael, Vancouver
You’re not breaking the law in most provinces if you put your feet on the dash, but if there’s a crash, you could break your legs – or worse, police said.
“There is no law against a bizarre seating position for a passenger in a vehicle,” said RCMP Corporal Michael McLaughlin, a spokesman for B.C. Highway Patrol. “But when an airbag goes off, it goes off very quickly. If your feet are between you and your body, you’re going to get seriously injured.”
How badly could you be hurt? In 2010, Bethany Benson, a 22-year-old Oshawa woman, was sleeping in the passenger seat with her seat back and her feet up when the car she was in ran into a suddenly braking semi. The airbag forced her knees into her face, She suffered multiple, life-changing injuries, including a brain bleed.
McLaughlin said he hasn’t personally heard of anyone seriously hurt in a crash because their feet were on the dash, but he said crash statistics do not show whether front-seat passengers had their feet on the dash.
While McLaughlin said it’s dangerous for your passengers to put their feet up, it likely won’t get you pulled over.
“As long as the seatbelt is appropriately engaged, we’re not gonna pull someone over for having their feet on the dash,” he said.
While laws vary by province, none have specific laws against this seating position.
But in Quebec, a driver could face charges if a passenger has their feet up on the dash, including careless driving.
“The passenger also has to make sure he doesn’t obstruct the vision of the driver if the driver is not able to see the right mirror,” said Nicolas Scholtus, a spokesman for Sûreté du Québec, Quebec’s provincial police force.
But Sean Shapiro, a traffic safety consultant and retired Toronto traffic cop, said he would pull over cars every time he saw a passenger with their feet on the dash to tell them it was “stupid.”
“And I would use language very much like that because it is stupid,” Shapiro said. “There’s just no positive to it. I don’t even think it looks very comfortable.”
The danger isn’t just from the airbag, Shapiro said.
“Vehicles have crumple zones … they crumple and they absorb impact,” Shapiro said. “Fire departments are forever cutting people out of motor vehicles where you wouldn’t believe a human could fit. [Crumple zones] will not protect you if your legs are on the dash.”
Safety over comfort?
You are safest in a car when you’re sitting in an upright position with your seatbelt fastened and positioned snugly against your body, McLaughlin said.
While there’s no specific law against feet on the dashboard, there is a charge for not wearing your seatbelt properly – for instance, if you’re lying across the back seat wearing only part of the belt, he said. It’s the same charge and fine as not wearing a seatbelt at all.
“It’s a $167 fine,” McLaughlin said. “It’s a ticket for the passenger if they’re an adult. If they’re a minor, then it’s a ticket for the driver.”
That’s the same in most provinces – you’ll face the same charges for wearing a seatbelt incorrectly as you would if you weren’t wearing one.
“You should be wearing your seatbelt as shown by the manufacturer,” Scholtus said.
Some drivers and passengers seeking a more comfortable ride will leave the shoulder belt under their arms or behind their backs instead of over their shoulders. It’s illegal and dangerous, experts warn.
“That’s a really common one,” McLaughlin said. “When your car decelerates rapidly, your seatbelt will engage so that you don’t fly through the windshield – [but] if it is not on properly, it will actually break bones or ligaments or cause some serious damage.”
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