On August 28, 2009, off-duty California Highway Patrol officer Mark Saylor and three members of his family were killed when the 2009 Lexus ES they were riding in sped out of control, crashed into another vehicle, rolled over, and burned. News reports stated that someone in the Lexus called 911 and reported that the car was speeding out of control and that the brakes weren’t working. Initial police reports said that the driver’s floor mat had interfered with the pedals. (Toyota floor mat shown here as an example.)

It was later reported that the Lexus, a dealer loaner car, may have been fitted at the dealership with accessory all-weather floor mats that were too big for that model, and so could not be secured properly to the floor. (See official statement.) It has been speculated that the loose floor mat may have gotten entangled in such a way that the accelerator pedal was pinned down while preventing the brake pedal from being depressed, but the investigation is not complete. The crash is still being investigated by both California authorities and by a team from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. In 2007, Lexus and Toyota issued a floor mat recall due to a problem with the mats potentially getting stuck under the accelerator pedal in certain cars. 
 
Sean Kane, founder of Safety Research & Strategies, Inc., said, “The Toyota Sudden Unintended Acceleration (SUA) problem covers a wide array of models and years -- Camry, Tacoma, Sienna, and Lexus. Floor mat interference can and undoubtedly does cause unintended acceleration, but having reviewed hundreds of complaints, there are incidents that defy floor mat interference as a cause.” (Read the Safety Research & Strategies report.)
 
Whatever the actual sequence of events was that led to this freak accident, having loose carpeting or other items in the driver foot well is probably not so uncommon. This crash vividly illustrates that the worst-case scenario sometimes actually happens. If your car has stock floor mats, take the time to make sure they are hooked to their restraint fixtures, if the car is so equipped. If you have aftermarket or accessory floor mats, make sure they are secured and can’t move around in such away as to interfere with pedal travel. Never stack floor mats; there should be only one per person. And always keep travel trash clear of the driver’s foot well.   

Learn more about safety techologies in our car safety section.

—Gordon Hard