People really do take the utmost care to ensure when they are driving they are as safe as possible. They wear their seatbelts and drive vehicles that come equipped with airbags, but there's one safety precaution that many people don't even think about and officials are now warning against. If you use a lanyard while at work or out and about, drivers are being warned to take it off before getting behind the wheel of a car.

After a National Health Services worker was involved in an accident in the UK, people are being urged not to wear their lanyards while driving, the BBC reports. The news site reported that the NHS worker was driving home from when she got in an accident. The worker was wearing a lanyard with multiple keys attached around her neck, and the keys perforated her bowel as a result of the accident when the airbag deployed. They reported another occasion where a person suffered a collapsed lung after the force of the airbag pushed the lanyard and attached pass into their chest.

"Following some traffic accidents across the UK where the wearing of identity lanyards has exacerbated the severity of the injuries sustained, we have taken the step to ensure NHS Wales staff are aware of the hazard," Tim Harrison, chair of the NHS Wales Health and Safety Management Steering Group said. "This type of accident is unlikely, but we hope by raising awareness of the potential risk, NHS Wales staff who routinely wear these for work will remove their lanyard when traveling in a vehicle."

Dorset Police Volunteers also reported on the accidents, stating the person who suffered the collapsed lung which resulted in a hospital stay would likely have only received minor injuries if they weren't wearing the lanyard. The women who suffered the perforated bowel required a 6-week stay in the hospital and has been off work for over 6 months!

While they highly recommending removing the lanyard completely when driving, they also suggest having a breakaway lanyard that will unfasten on their own should they get stuck or caught in anything. An accident like those mentioned above are thankfully rare, but they do happen. Officials are asking people to simply take the extra safety measure and remove their lanyard before driving to avoid any unnecessary risks.

Read Next: These Four Car Seat Models Broke During Recent Safety Testing