Many of us appreciate being comfortable when we are riding in a vehicle. We may go out of our way to seek that comfort and one of the ways that some people do it is by putting their legs on the dashboard.

If you are able to look at cars that are passing by on the highway, you will see that it is a fairly common practice. People do it to stretch out their legs without having to get out of the vehicle, especially when they are in the car for a long time.

What many people don’t realize is the potential danger of putting your feet up on the dashboard. This could lead to some lifelong injuries and the potential for dying as well.

Audra Tatum is a Georgia woman who was in the passenger seat with her legs crossed and 1 foot up on the dashboard. Her husband was driving and she was not wearing a seatbelt. Her husband had warned her about the riskiness of her actions but she didn’t pay attention to what he said.

“All my life I had my legs crossed and my foot on the dash,” Tatum told CBS News. “My husband always told me, ‘You’re going to get in a wreck someday, and you’re going to break your legs.'”

This couple was in an accident and the airbag deployed. Her foot came back and hit her in the face, breaking her nose, ankle, arm and femur in the process.

“The airbag went off, throwing my foot up and breaking my nose,” Tatum recalled. “I was looking at the bottom of my foot facing up at me. Basically my whole right side was broken, and it’s simply because of my ignorance.”

The doctors said that if it weren’t for the airbag, she may have sustained much more serious injuries. She had to go through a number of surgeries as well as physical therapy and was unable to walk for more than a month. She continues to walk with a limp down to this day, even though it has been three years since the accident. She can’t stand more than 4 hours at a time and it has impacted her career as an EMS.

In an effort to bring this potential problem to the attention of others, she has been sharing the details of her gruesome accident. She wants others to think before they do something that could cost them a lifetime of pain and misery.

“I keep telling everybody, you don’t want this life,” she said. “You don’t want the pain and agony every day.”

This warning has also come from law enforcement authorities, fire departments and many health experts. They want people to know about the dangers of keeping their feet up on the dashboard.

A warning was posted on Facebook by the Chattanooga fire department. It reminded people that “airbags deploy between 100 & 220 MPH,” so “if you ride with your feet on the dash and you’re involved in an accident, the airbag may send your knees through your eye sockets.”

Tatum also provided an interview with a local news station saying that she regrets this decision every single day. She also added, “Every hour of every day because every time I put pressure on my leg I feel it… Do not sit like that. If you sit like that you’re asking for it.