A protruding "hood" or "shelf" has been used in dashboard design in all major makes of American automobiles at various times since 1964. This structure has usually been provided with padding sufficient to protect the facial and cranial skeletons from severe injury. The larynx is more easily injured, however, and is often significantly injured when struck against such a protruding edge, even though the edge is padded.

In this paper, the case reports of twelve persons injured this way are beiefly summarized. The mechanism of injury is explicitly detailed. Photographs of the patients and their vehicles are included.

This type of injury is easily prevented either by the use of restraints now available or by changing the configuration of the dashboard.