Katie Napier, a Michigander, showed her forearm to a friend. It was a curious injury: She’d recently been in an accident in her Ford Edge SUV. She walked away with an interesting wound on her arm. Napier assumed it was from the actual airbag itself, which deployed. Her friend, a former EMS, had a better idea: It was the Ford logo, which branded her arm in the crash when the airbag blew out of the steering wheel cover. Sure enough, the shape fits the bill.

When an airbag goes off, it doesn’t politely wait for you to brace

It explodes out of the steering wheel at roughly 200 miles per hour. That speed is necessary to cushion your body before it slams into the wheel or dash. It’s a controlled blast, but it’s still a blast.

Now picture your hands on the wheel

The steering wheel has the automaker’s badge smack in the center, often made of raised plastic or rubber. 

When the airbag deploys, it punches through that emblem with force. If your arm or wrist is nearby, the combination of heat, friction, and impact can actually brand your skin. 

That’s what happened to Napier. You can clearly make out part of the Ford logo scorched onto her forearm. She posted her wound, plus a photo of the deployed Edge airbag, on Edge ST Owners Facebook Group.

This isn’t new, and it’s not unique to Ford

Plenty of brands have left their mark (literally) on drivers during crashes. It’s rare, but it happens. 

Airbags are designed to break through covers in a specific way, but when your body is too close, it can catch some of that energy.

Airbags save lives

Without them, that same car accident could cause far worse injuries or even be fatal.

But they’re not gentle. Airbags can burn you, break bones, and cause hearing damage. 

Logo burns, like the one this Edge driver got, are a strange but real side effect. “Now you’re Ford tough,” someone commented on the Facebook post.

Injuries like this are a good reminder to grip the wheel at 9 and 3, not 10 and 2. And if your steering wheel logo looks particularly raised or metallic, just know that it could leave a “lasting impression.”