There's a right and wrong way to sit in your car seat

Seat heights in many vehicles can be adjusted up or down to better suit the height of the driver.

However, using another object, such as a cushion, to further increase the height at which you’re seated can have an impact on the effectiveness of an airbag if it were deployed during a crash.

In each vehicle, airbags are designed to be effective throughout the range of driver seat adjustments and across a range of average occupant body sizes.

But this assumes the seat is used with no extra cushioning that may further increase the driver’s height when seated. Airbags may be less effective in a crash where the driver is positioned differently from that which is allowed using seat adjustments alone.

The same is true for other vehicle occupants, with the exception of children in approved and correctly fitted child car restraints.

Significant alterations to the sitting position of any passengers, including passengers resting their legs or feet on the dashboard, can have an impact on the deployment of airbags and increase the risk of injuries.

Seat belts can also be less effective when not worn as intended. When correctly positioned on the body, a seat belt helps restrain passengers in a crash by limiting movement at some of the strongest parts of the body - the chest and pelvis.

Research suggests wearing a correctly fitted seat belt reduces the risk of fatal or serious injury by around 50 per cent.