Ankle Injuries after accident?

OK, so let's analyze this "mistake" objectively rather than in a knee-jerk (or ankle-jerk ) way. What empirical evidence can you cite to demonstrate this "problem?" What is the lower extremity injury rate among Prius drivers in serious collisions? How does it compare to other vehicles? Has this been identified as a serious safety issue by objective researchers or NHTSA?

 

Which models are you thinking of?

 

Good question. Are there any Prius models that do NOT have the parking brake in pedal form? I have not seen any.

 

JimboK,

This thread was started by a person who stated that both he and his mother had suffered serious injuries (in one case SEVERE injuries) caused by impact of the ankle with *a* brake pedal in a Prius, on two different occasions. Granted, he did not say that it was the parking brake pedal, and it could have been the regular brake pedal.

*I* found this thread because I have long been concerned with the parking pedal placement from the first time I ever sat in the driver seat of a Prius. My common sense and engineering judgement indicated that the pedal was a problem. Do we really need a big statistical study (on human objects) to establish that this is bad and dangerous design? Not in my book.

No instead of pooh-poohing my concern, how about instead YOU prove how the location of the parking brake pedal 2 inches above my ankle is NOT a risk? BTW, in my estimation the risk is not only (or even mostly) the parking pedal being pushed into the leg, but just as significantly your leg flying forward/upward at high speed and hitting the pedal upon impact.

Some more background: It has traditionally been uncommon for small and narrow cars to have parking brake pedals. I have previously seen large cars such as Ford LTD (1980s) and Toyota Avalon with parking brake pedals, but in these cars the pedals is farther to the left and away from your leg, and not placed right above the left footrest. This makes a big difference.

 

Unless there are a large amount of data available showing that this parking brake location is a severe hazard on the Prius models then I consider this a pointless discussion. The OP has 1 post count to their name and there is no way to validate their incident and the injuries that they sustained. We are often beset by trolls on this forum complaining about one thing or anotherso this could easily be another case, who knows. If you are so concerned with the pdeal placement then you should be focusing your efforts at Toyota because until enough Prius owners are affected by your concerns you will not gain any real ground here.

I'm not saying your concerns are not valid but I see no point in arguing this any further. If you do not feel the Prius is safe then by all means check out a different car. It's your money and your safety. I wish you luck.

 

Uh, my Tundra has the same pedal set arrangement. It is not much different from that on other vehicles I've owned. So I'm not sure what your justification is for classifying it as a "glaring engineering/design mistake." It appears to be the same as most other vehicles and is not any more unique to the Prius than having floormats... I'm not saying it couldn't be changed or improved, just that it is not the "odd man out" that you are portraying.

I doubt you will see any over representation in ankle injuries compared to similar sized vehicles.

Another problem with your theory is that the OP described ankle injuries while the placement of the pedal would suggest injuries well above the ankle (I would expect breaks in the left mid-tibia/fibula area. That would be consistent with how I was banged up by the pedals in the F-150. My ankles were fine in that case because there was no incursion/crumple in the footwell because of the nature of the hit.

 

Not quite, how about in your pocket as the ultimate place for your keys.

 

...or if you're in a country where they didn't get approval for Smart Key. No UK Gen 2 ever had Smart Key. It's fob-in-slot for all of us.

Frankly I wish there were a way to turn it permanently off on the Gen 3. I don't ever want someone to steal my car because I, or one of my keys, still happens to be within 15 feet of it. As someone here found out (see the Safety Connect Recovers Stolen Prius V thread). It may be possible to pull one of the fuses, I haven't seen a wiring diagram.

Gen 3 has no slot. If the fob battery is dead, you have to place the fob in proximity to the power button to activate it. It appears that the same battery is used for both 'smart' functions and the remote lock/unlock functionality using the buttons on the fob, so you can't have just one or the other enabled.

Finally, if you're worried about banging your knee into keys dangling from the fob on Gen 2, the solution is simple: don't hang the fob off your keyring. Keep it separate.

With regard to the brake pedal, this is an aspect that is examined in safety testing (e.g. EuroNCAP). EuroNCAP rated driver lower leg and foot protection as 'good' for the Gen 2, using the pre-2009 rating scheme. The Gen 3 scored 'adequate' in this area using the new rating scheme, which isn't directly comparable. I'm sure that if there had been any sign of prevalent ankle injury problems, in comparison to similar-size models, they would have been mentioned.

 

It doesn't work that way. The fob must be inside the car before the Prius will start.

Tom

 

If you disassemble the dash and key-slot assembly far enough
to back one of the little blue solenoid wires out of the connector
at the back of the fob-slot, then the key will not be captured
when the car is powered up. [You could simply cut one of the
wires, too, but restore to original condition less easily.]
I've had mine like this for years now, and it allows key-in-pocket
driving without having smartkey.
.
_H*

 

Maybe someday the car makers will come up with air bags for legs and feet? Or do some cars already have that?

 

Advances in Airbag Technology - Cars.com

 

The base model did not have the auto-start function. It had to be inserted into the slot.

Of course, *no* Prius on a real dealer's lot is so equipped.

In my Prius the key is in the ultimate location...my left shirt pocket.

Chuck

 

Cool! Thanks!

 

I initially was going to let others' responses suffice and just let this go, but I love a challenge!

One unverifiable anecdote is not empirical evidence. Even if it was, one or two data points out of millions is not a trend.

By not specifying the parking brake, most people likely will assume the OP was referring to the regular brake.

Problem is, there are NO studies, big or small. Not even verifiable case reports: Nothing here, nothing on similar forums, no NHTSA investigations, no NHTSA complaints.

I'm not dismissing your concern. If it's a concern for you, I respect your decision not to buy the car. What I am trying to do is keep yet another Prius myth from floating about in cyberspace. We don't need that.

The burden of proof is on whomever makes a fresh allegation of unsafe design for a car model with several years and millions of miles behind it. Nonetheless, I did my own fact-checking. Check out IIHS's crash test results and NHTSA's investigation and complaint databases for yourself:

IIHS-HLDI: Toyota Prius
Safercar.gov

Shawn covered this one pretty well.

 

Here is a photo that I took yesterday in a brand new 2010 Prius, on the dealer lot, to illustrate my concern about the placement of the parking brake pedal directly over my left foot (foot rest location).

They say a picture is worth a thousand words ...

 

And that is the same as my Tundra. (No need for a thousand words.)

But playing along again: explain how that would cause an ankle injury in frontal impact. It won't. It could cause other injuries to the lower leg, but is unlikely to impact the ankle--the movement of the ankle is in the wrong direction with respect to the parking brake pedal.

Furthermore, the OP did not state which leg was injured in the crashes--another critical aspect to the way you are interpreting this.

 

Ankle injuries in a crash are usually caused by pressing on something that gets driven back into you, such as the floor. Unless you drive around with your foot on the parking brake, it's not going to do anything to your ankle in a crash.

Tom

 

Where is the left foot foot rest?

 

In the picture, the left foot is on the foot rest. In other words, the foot rest is right underneath the parking brake pedal.