Workers are being urged not to drive or travel in cars while wearing their keycard lanyards after a series of gruesome injuries have been caused by deployed airbags.
According to the BBC, in the U.K., one National Health Service worker crashed her car while driving home from work and perforated her bowel from keys attached to her work lanyard. Another worker reportedly suffered a collapsed lung after the airbag pushed their lanyard and work pass into their chest.
Staff at NHS, as well as at least one school have been warned about the risks of driving while wearing lanyards, the BBC reported.
“Following some traffic accidents across the UK where the wearing of identity lanyards has exacerbated the severity of the injuries sustained, we have taken the step to ensure NHS Wales staff are aware of the hazard,” said Tim Harrison, chair of the NHS Wales Health and Safety Management Steering Group.
“This type of accident is unlikely, but we hope by raising awareness of the potential risk, NHS Wales staff who routinely wear these for work will remove their lanyard when traveling in a vehicle.”
The Dorset Police Volunteers Facebook page further elaborated on the risks of driving while wearing a lanyard.
While it may seem a lanyard couldn’t cause that much damage, the results of these accidents have been debilitating. According to the Dorset Police Volunteers, the woman who suffered a perforated bowel was in the hospital for over six weeks and has been off work now for six months.
The driver with the collapsed lung was only involved in a minor car accident, the Dorset Police Volunteers report, but still required hospitalization.
“There have been a couple of serious traffic accidents of note (not within Dorset Police) where the wearing of identity lanyards around the drivers’ necks has exacerbated the severity of the injuries sustained,” the Dorset Police Volunteers said. “This type of accident is fortunately unlikely, however staff, officers and volunteers should be aware of the hazard and how to avoid it.”
The risk, of course, extends to U.S. drivers as well.
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