"Hand trap, BEWARE!" Topic

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I had a scare, an ambush as it were. The 2006 Ford Fusion displayed a trap in the design of the seat with the bottom of the door frame. I fumbled the key as I grabbed it from the door cubby, and the key fell between the seat and the door frame, and ended up under the seat. I could wiggle my fingers down there and feel the key, but I could not get a hold of it. The floor comes up virtually flush with the front of the seat, making any feeling around under the seat impossible while sitting in it. So unthinking, I turned my hand backside up and shoved it down there again. Bad/stupid move! Instantly my hand was trapped between the bottom edge of the seat frame, the door frame, and the floor. WTH!? It HURT! Trying to pull my hand out was impossible, and for over a minute (I don't know how long, but probably not much more than that, although while I was trapped and in mounting pain it felt way too long) I wrestled with my predicament. Finally I hiked myself forward half in and half out of the door, turned to the right and angled my hand toward the rear of the seat, almost parallel with it and the door frame now. This increased the pain several magnitudes, almost making me abandon the attempt. With a painful wrench across my tendons I twisted my hand free. The vision of me stuck there, until someone noticed, faded in an instant and I shouted a suitable expletive at the stupid world of car designers, wishing very much at that moment (and still, somewhat) to punch the responsible person in the face. Now that I was free, I could open the back door, kneel down, and reach in under the seat and get the key.

The "design" of this thing is insane: why build up the floor so that you can't reach under the seat from where you are sitting? And then, to invite disaster, you include a hand-sized hole in the seat foundation so that you can wiggle fingers (and, obviously NOW, a whole hand) down there but not enough room to actually grab anything?

I haven't been this angry at a physical situation in I don't know how long. If the car was anything like new, I would be visiting Ford Motor Company's website with verbiage. Hey, maybe I will anyway. It would make me feel better, if not my hand. Inconceivably, there is no mark on my hand; or at least nothing that shows more than the discoloration already there of advancing middle age. My abused tendons feel tender, that's all.

OMG! That IS a trap!

Still I think you better take some anti-inflammatory tonight. I have a feeling you're going to be feeling it tomorrow and might still bruise.

I would contact the car company anyway. If they haven't already addressed the issue with the newer models, they damn better.

Dan
PS. On a lighter note, your predicament did sound a bit familiar to me:
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The car company should be required to put an Admiral Anbar sticker on the seat.

Two words: Dodge Ram. I keep a bug out vest, trailer hitch and jumper cables under my seat with room to spare

I sent a snail mail letter, with the essence of the OP's description. I feel better.

The bruise is light. My tendons recovered amazingly fast, considering how much it hurt at the time.

Yes, the trap reminded me at once of the coon trap, which is like the poor monkey who won't let go and works exactly the same way. The difference, of course, is that my hand was stuck and I wasn't holding onto anything.

I don't get the Admiral Anbar reference.

My Voyager has lots of room under the driver's seat too. But not quite that much room. I have an emergency kit with jumper cables, a survival knife and rags under my seat, with no room to spare.

Admiral Akbar, perhaps?

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Ah, that must be it.

The raised section of floor running parallel with the front of the seat probably serves a couple of purposes.

First, it will strengthen the floor of the car helping to make the shell more rigid. A rigid shell is important for the dynamics and handling of the car, and obviously makes it safer in an accident.

Second, it houses a whole bunch of electrics and electronics on most modern cars.

Course, that's all well and good until you drop something under the seat! The worst is a coin that ends up in the seat runners….

I won't fault the raised floor fronting the seat. But the hand sized hole on the side is just insane. Properly designed, it should be impossible to drop anything under the seat.

I've cleaned rental cars. The stuff you find under the seats…!