[nishsingh]

Originally Posted by GTO

Great thread ! Perhaps, one of the most common examples of an unrestrained object causing danger is a water bottle left on the floor. It can roll behind the brake pedal and restrict its usage - has caught me out once.

In my case, I have been caught out by a lowly chappal. This was when I was learning to drive, and my chappal got stuck between the brake and accelarator pedals. I couldnt depress the brake, and the car rammed something out in front.

Since then no chappals - only proper covered shoes for driving

[faridsahmed]

I once faced same situation with "footwear" under clutch !
It was my wife's footwear. She had kept flat base footwear in car for driving.

Removed it instantly & also informed here about the consequences of footwear getting under pedals.

[R2D2]

Originally Posted by faridsahmed

I once faced same situation with "footwear" under clutch! It was my wife's footwear. She had kept flat base footwear in car for driving. Removed it instantly & also informed here about the consequences of footwear getting under pedals.

I make sure there's nothing in the driver's foot-well, ever.

Even a rag or any plastic or metal item are promptly cleared. And there's strictly no eating, smoking or drinking (soft drinks, coffee etc) in my car. Yeah, I have even asked people to step out of the car to get their fix of Lady Nicotine or her sis Caffeine. So no chance of food wrappers, cups anywhere.

1 litre packaged water bottles are safely ensconced in the door panel bottle holder. The driver side foot mats are secured with hooks.

I don't want to take even the smallest chance of anything interfering with the ABC pedals. Call me nuts but I am just trying to prevent a potentially nightmarish situation from occurring.

[am1m]

Originally Posted by faridsahmed

I once faced same situation with "footwear" under clutch !
It was my wife's footwear. She had kept flat base footwear in car for driving.

Removed it instantly & also informed here about the consequences of footwear getting under pedals.

I have this same issue too!

I have nightmares thinking about my wife's footwear getting stuck under the brake pedal while she's driving on her way to work. For some weird reason women seem to HAVE to use two different pairs of footwear on the way to work - one to drive in and one to wear at work. Of course, it's just impossible for them to have a single pair that will serve both functions comfortably!

I've seen this with several women relatives and friends.

Or else they will drive barefoot. Which is even riskier, because then for sure the footwear will be lying in the driver's side.

[MadiMaama]

Originally Posted by GTO

Great thread ! Perhaps, one of the most common examples of an unrestrained object causing danger is a water bottle left on the floor. It can roll behind the brake pedal and restrict its usage - has caught me out once.

During training in my previous company, we were told to advertise the bottle holders that comes on the Trax Deluxe as a safety feature. This training was to be imparted by us to the dealer sales team

[rajathv8]

Originally Posted by smartcat

Oh? So is this a bad idea?

I was about to post that it is not bad if one drives slowly and wears seat belts only to realize that all those items could have been sent flying at the occupants even if the car was stationary and someone else rammed into it.

[rajwheelz]

Good thread. I now have to shamelessly admit a mistake i did not once but twice. Thankfully escaped with no incident.

It's not just about objects in the car, its loose objects on person too.

Two times i put my phone in my left pocket of my track pants on my way to my workout and they slip exactly when i navigate a speed breaker. Human instinct made me immediately reach out to catch it before it hits the floor ( Call it muscle memory maybe ). And that means at least 3 or 4 seconds of eyes off the road.

Nothing serious happened, but i did apologize once to a parked 4 wheeler who got a scare of his life.

I never did that again , ever.

[gk1234]

Speaking of unrestrained objects inside the cabin, what about this?


Honestly, I don’t understand the logic behind this, although I was told by a Mercedes sales representative that the idea is to allow the wheel to move around in case of a severe rear end collision so that the impact on the tyre isn’t passed on to the rest of the vehicle. I still don’t believe him, but oh well.
Frankly speaking, I think this is not only a huge blow to practicality, but also an issue against passenger safety. I mean, look at this! A massive tyre inside the cabin is “restrained” by a couple of belts and nothing more.

[faridsahmed]

[QUOTE A massive tyre inside the cabin is “restrained” by a couple of belts and nothing more.[/quote]

The belts designed & are supposed to restrain the tyre in its designated position for all driving conditions and also not cause any damage to floor/side panels.

[gk1234]

Originally Posted by faridsahmed

The belts designed & are supposed to restrain the tyre in its designated position for all driving conditions and also not cause any damage to floor/side panels.

Agreed, but are those belts/mounts any good at preventing the tyre from being thrown forward in case of a severe rear-end collision? I can imagine it causing substantial injury to someone seated ahead.

I still think it’s safest to store the spare tyre in a dedicated wheel well in the boot of a car.

Apologies if the mods think my rant is off-topic; this was the first thing that crossed my mind when I saw the topic heading.

[abhishek46]

Originally Posted by gk1234

Speaking of unrestrained objects inside the cabin, what about this?
Attachment 1761338

I am yet to see a more Hideous Solution for the Spare wheel in any automobile, let alone a luxury vehicle.
Our ancestral LML Vespa had a better solution than this contraption.

Can I ask, what Vehicle is this, and how does the Spare tyre get such a respect, that it gets a virtual seat of it's own!

[gk1234]

Originally Posted by abhishek46

I am yet to see a more Hideous Solution for the Spare wheel in any automobile, let alone a luxury vehicle.
Our ancestral LML Vespa had a better solution than this contraption.

Can I ask, what Vehicle is this, and how does the Spare tyre get such a respect, that it gets a virtual seat of it's own!

This is the Audi Q7. So much for styling it as a seven-seater!

[FarPatel]

Slightly off topic but still relevant, I think.
Back when I used to ride a two-wheeler, my shoelace had once got entangled in the gear pedal. It gave me a scare, especially since I was in dense traffic, but I got it cleared somehow and since then either used slip-ons or made sure my laces were double knotted to reduce the sizes of the loops.

[fighterace]

Originally Posted by R2D2

In a country where educated (I stress on this word) car owners:

a) Let a child stand in the front passenger foot well inches away from the passenger airbag
b) Drive with children in their lap
c) Let children raise their heads out the of car through the sunroof
d) NEVER have their children fasten seat-belts
e) Never fasten seat-belts themselves
f) Speak on the mobile phone when driving. I've even seen some texting not only in cars but even on 2 wheelers.

Any 1 or more of these infractions is enough to warrant a hefty fine, license cancellation or even jail time abroad. So, Indians keeping unsecured articles inside the car simply doesn't surprise me. People think nothing will happens to them..until it does.

It is amazing to see the same 'educated' drivers will follow every single rule whilst driving overseas paradoxically where the risks of an accident are lower due to the far more disciplined traffic and better roads.

Dear Sir,

You are confusing degrees with education. There is no correlation between the two any more in this country.

Regards,

A.B.

@FarPatel: No slip-ons on two wheelers please, steel toe safety shoes are the best for riding them. If not, then normal shoes.

[vinayrathore]

Originally Posted by gk1234

This is the Audi Q7. So much for styling it as a seven-seater!

The new Q7 has a spare wheel mount with a swivel bracket. I think its visible in the pic you posted too. Have a look at the metal bracket with two bolts visible to the right of the spare.