Loose mat may have caused fatal car crash

When you think about safety and avoiding a car crash, you think brakes, air bags and seat belts. Now, you should check floor mats, too.

The carpet in the driver's footwell is at the centre of what to date is Toyota's largest-ever US vehicle recall, prompted by a fatal crash near San Diego, USA.

It is believed the car accident may have been caused by the accelerator pedal becoming caught under the edge of the driver's mat.

Toyota has urged drivers to watch out for loose or incorrect mats which could slide out of position and cover pedals.

"Anything that's in the footwell — whether it's your flip-flops or a bottle of water or the floor mat — it poses a danger," Toyota spokesman John Hanson said.

Mats sold in car accessory shops generally are too flimsy to cause problems with an accelerator pedal but some higher-quality non-standard mats are stiff enough to cause trouble.

Many people place rubber mats on top of carpet mats which came with their cars to protect the carpet from dirt, especially in the winter. But senior director of Consumer Report's auto testing department David Champion said stacking mats can be dangerous.

"The more levels that you've got, the more chance that one or the other will break loose and not be retained securely, so it could wedge underneath the pedals or cause interference with your use of the pedals," he said.

If your accelerator pedal becomes caught on the floor mat, here are some steps Toyota recommends:

Reach down and pull the mat back from the accelerator. Then pull over and stop your vehicle. If you can't dislodge the pedal or it seems unsafe to do so, press on the brake with both feet. Then shift the vehicle into neutral, which will disengage the transmission. Continue braking until you come to a stop.

You can also try shutting off the engine or turning the key to the "ACC" position on the ignition. You won't lose control of steering or the brakes. But be careful, you won't have the benefit of power brakes or power steering once the vehicle is off.

With so many factors beyond your control on the road which could lead to personal injury in a vehicle accident, it makes sense to reduce the number of potential hazards in your car over which you do have control, so remove anything loose from the footwell and cut out one of the reasons for a car crash.

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