An opinion piece in The National calls on muftis to pass fatwas to deal with driving frustrations in the UAE. In addition to the obvious things like driving without a license, not wearing a seat belt, and reckless driving, the author also wants a fatwa against people placing their feet on the dash while driving.
Personally, I want a fatwa against the drivers who put their feet on the dashboard while driving.
I don’t want to see anyone’s toes while I am on the road, especially if the driver and sometimes the person next to him are playing with their toes.
I’m not sure why the author thinks that any mufti would consider a personal dislike for seeing toes while on the road a sufficient legal justification for declaring it unlawful (ḥarām) or offensive (makrūh) – or that safeguarding the author’s personal comfort while driving merits its own fatwa.
Nonetheless, there are legally significant reasons to be concerned with placing feet on the dashboard while driving since we are required to avoid actions that are sure or likely to lead to harm against ourselves or others, and placing the feed on the dash is said to hamper airbag deployment and seatbelt effectivity, resulting in more severe injuries.