The French are among the worst drivers in Europe. Road accidents are therefore numerous. However, the number is down sharply. Indeed, as the official website of the Ministry of the Interior tells us, “according to estimates by the National Interministerial Observatory for Road Safety (ONISR), in March 2023, 195 people died on the roads of mainland France. , a decline of -14% compared to March 2022. The number of serious injuries is down -15%”. But what is the most dangerous position?
Many people mistakenly think that the so-called “dead man’s place” is the front seat, next to the driver. Yet it is in truth quite another place that is the most dangerous. Indeed, before modern safety standards, i.e. seat belt requirements, front airbags, side airbags, and more, the front passenger seat was the one that knew the most deaths in road accidents. But today, thanks to these new safety rules, the “place of the dead” is at the back. Specifically, that damned spot is the rear center seat. However, the front passenger seat ranks second. As for the safest seat in the car, it’s the rear left seat, just behind the driver. As our colleagues from RMC tell us, “safety equipment is ubiquitous and it is on the opposite side of the right, where most accidents come from”.
A position is to never reproduce when you are in the car. This is the one that consists of putting your feet on the dashboard. Indeed, as police officers report to BFMTV, this position “harms the correct opening of the airbag and the proper functioning of the seat belt” during an accident. The media also tells us that “the protections badly activated, the shock will project the knees towards the top of the body and the head. At the same time, the motorist can be ejected towards the windshield. Enough to cause serious injuries , even fatal, between broken bones, trauma to the face and heavy damage to the rib cage”. So remember not to position yourself like this.
As the summer holidays have officially started, and many French people are taking the road to go on vacation, pay close attention to your position during the car journey. Above all, do not sit in a lying position, because “they prevent proper use of the seat belt. Worse, the equipment can sink into the abdominal cavity, leaving, there too, sequelae. Passing the legs or even your head out of the window is, of course, not recommended either, on the contrary. Choose a position where your eyes are halfway up the windscreen. Also remember to adjust your seat “a reasonable distance from the glove box” so that in the event of an accident the airbags can protect you. Finally, remember that the top of the headrest is at the same level as that of your head.
