Floor mats are the usual suspects for car accidents
In America and Canada, the two states are seeing a surge of car accidents influenced by faulty floor mats. Floor mats from a variety of makers have led to several driving problems. In some cases, there have been reports that the pedal have stuck to the mats.
In 2006, Washington witnessed a 100 year-old motorist suffer personal injuries when his car crashed into a ditch after the floor mate wedged on the accelerator.
In Montreal, a boy was hospitalised and his sister died after their mother lost control of the car. Police commented that the floor mat was the reason for the crash.
Therefore, the mats that have been poorly designed or improperly used have triggered recalls for at least a million vehicles over the past 25 years.
Last Thursday, a road accident occurred which injured eight children and six adults. Nassau police stated that the floor mat got caught between the brake and above the accelerator pedal. The driver accidently speed up because of this and hit several people.
AAA spokeswoman Christie Hyde said to always buy mats that are specifically designed for your car: “You want to make sure that it's cut to fit your floorboard. That way, it has the eyelets in the proper location to connect to the hook in the floorboard.”
Updated on 29/12/2008