Safety experts are urging drivers to remove a common workplace accessory before getting behind the wheel, warning it could cause serious injuries even in minor car accidents.
According to Adam Bennett, workplace security expert at Digital ID, lanyards—often worn on a cord around the neck to display ID badges, security passes, or keys—should not be worn while driving.
Why lanyards are dangerous in a collision
Bennett explained: "While any delay on the way home from work is less than ideal, in this instance, taking a few seconds to remove your lanyard before you start driving could actually help you avoid serious injury."
He continued: "Police have reported in the past that minor road traffic collisions where people should have left relatively unscathed have been worsened by passengers wearing lanyards in the vehicle."
"Issues such as collapsed lungs or perforated bowels have been caused as a result of an airbag driving a lanyard and items attached like keys into the body of a passenger during a collision. And injuries like these can often leave people hospitalised for a couple of weeks."
Security risks of wearing lanyards outside work
Bennett also highlighted workplace security concerns, urging organisations to ensure staff remove lanyards immediately after leaving the building.
He said: "From a business security perspective, it's even more important that you remove your lanyard immediately after leaving the building."
"Cloned identification is one of the easiest ways for a bad-faith actor to gain access to your workplace, and wearing your lanyard around your workplace provides more opportunities for someone to do this."
Bennett added: "It's best practice to get into a habit of removing your ID as soon as you leave your building to avoid posing a security risk for your workplace, and a health risk for yourself on the commute home."
Public debate over lanyard use on commutes
The issue has been widely debated online. In a Reddit thread, one user asked: "Why do people wear their work lanyards on their work commute?"
Several responses revealed that some employers had "actually told them not to wear their lanyards", particularly while using public transport. Reasons ranged from security concerns to firms with an unfavourable public image, where staff could be "targeted" by individuals who "actively hated them" and might "attack" employees simply "for being employees".
