A driving instructor has urged drivers to remove one item when driving as it may cause more serious injuries in the events of an accident.
Uppingham-based ‘R’ Drive School of Motoring often shares clips and videos from their driving lessons on TikTok, sharing important tips and information about driving.
In one video, driving instructor Sonny Sunderland urged drivers and driving students to take off one item before getting on the roads, as it could result in serious injuries in the events of an accident.
“Please, please, please take your lanyard off if you’re having a driver lesson or driving,” he said at the start of his video.
“Loads of people will wear lanyards, those people who wear lanyards that go to college, or at work, or university or whatever it is. [They’ll] forget it’s around your neck – take it off.”
He went on to explain that the NHS, as well as the British Safety Council, have warned drivers that the keys or pass attached to their lanyard can injure the driver if you’re involved in an accident at a high speed as it may cause significant bruising or lacerations. The key or pass can also be compressed into the wearer’s body by an airbag.
“There has been a spate of accidents where when the air bag has been deployed – this is rare but it can happen – one instant is the airbag hit against the lanyard, perforated someone’s lung,” Sonny warned.
“And another one, someone had a couple of keys for a locker attached to it and it [the airbag] went off and actually perforated someone’s bowel as well,” he added. “It’s horrible. And even if it doesn’t perforate something like that, it’s gonna cause lacerations if [the airbag] goes off.”
Sonny went on to urge his students as well as other drivers to make sure they take off their lanyards before they start driving in order to minimise any possible injuries in case of an accident.
People soon took to the comments, with some saying they were unable to take their lanyards off when driving.
“As a taxi driver i legally have to wear it,” one person commented, while a paramedic said: “the police and ambulance services wear their lanyards when they’re driving…”
Another user shared: “Mines not related to airbags but I did wear a lanyard a few times on my lessons and forgot, if I had to lean forwards to check my view it would get stuck under the steering wheel!!”
“I don’t understand why people don’t take of their lanyards when in public. It has your personal details on there such as your full name and the organisation you work at / study,” a fourth person said.
