The answer is a definite no. According to driving.ca, upon impact, the passenger frontal airbags are deployed from inside the dashboard at speeds of more than 320km/h. This is a little faster than most Formula One cars race. If a passenger has their feet on the dash, two things can happen; once the airbag deploys, it may cause the knees to push backwards, slamming into the passenger’s face resulting in serious injury. The deployed airbag can also drive the passenger’s thigh bones through their pelvis, which may result in paralysis or severe back and leg injuries.
Accidents often occur due to other driver’s mistakes, and a vehicle’s safety features (i.e. airbags) provide protection from injury. The vehicle structure, seat belt system and airbags are all designed to provide crash protection. However, these features don’t work as intended if the person in the car is not sitting upright in the vehicle.
It is very important to ensure that you and your passengers are as safe as possible when travelling by car – especially since the odds of being involved in a vehicle collision is higher than other modes of transport. The simplest and safest solution in this case; keep your feet on the floor and never place them on a dashboard.
In the unfortunate event of an accident, all Matrix MX3 units are fitted with an impact sensor that will send a signal from the unit to the control room. After assessing the situation, help will be dispatched to the exact location of the vehicle using the GPS co-ordinates from your Matrix unit. The Crash Alert feature from Matrix has saved many lives, making it a vital personal safety feature that we are proud to include in our service portfolio.