2 months ago
WASHINGTON, DC (NEWSPRONET) -- It's common for car passengers to recline their seats to get some rest or stretch out their legs. But what many people don't know is that some experts say reclining your seat could result in serious injury or even death.
Prashant Kumar knows it's a miracle he's here today. The father of a 3-year-old still remembers when the car he was riding in was hit head on. "I was in a coma for two-and-a-half months. I had heart, liver, lung, kidney failure."
Kumar lost also had to have both of his legs amputated because of the accident. He was wearing his seatbelt. But he was also reclining in the passenger seat.
"I chose to recline because I thought it would give me a little bit of sleep and rest," says Kumar.
Eileen Bulger, M.D. specializes in trauma and critical care. She noticed unique injury patterns in reclining seat accidents.
"You can impact your chest; you can have fractures of the spine; you can have head injury for your head kind of whipping forward, as well. And, then the severe injuries to the legs come from sliding forward into the dash board," says Dr. Bulger.
Bulger was so concerned that she examined data from around the country to determine whether what she was seeing was widespread. Results are startling.
"What we found was that driving in that position significantly increases your risk of mortality if you're in a car crash."
The study showed that partially reclined passengers involved in an accident increased their risk of death by 15-percent. Fully reclined passengers increased their risk by 70-percent.
"It makes both airbags and seatbelts less effective," says Dr. Bulger.
Dr. Adrian Lund is President of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. The organization conducts crash safety tests. "What people need to understand is that when we test vehicles for how well they'll protect you in a crash, we are assuming that people are seated upright in the seat," says Dr. Lund.
Lund says safety tests have never been done with the seat reclined. "Having the seat reclined means you're not protected the way the vehicle was designed to protect you."
All of the car owner manuals we checked warned that reclining a seat can result in a serious injury in a crash.
"Unfortunately, most people don't read the manual to find out about this," says Dr. Lund.
Some safety groups would like to see additional warnings on dash boards and car visors.
The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers says it "generally agrees" with the findings of Dr. Bulger's study. However they say additional warnings are regulated by the Federal Government.
Meanwhile, Prashant Kumar is telling his story so others don't have to suffer like he has. "Please, when you get into a car, I beg you, please do not recline your seat."
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