Safety pedal for motor vehicles

A vehicle safety pedal apparatus comprising:

• a foot engaging portion;
• a linkage attachment for attaching the pedal apparatus to a vehicle;
• a pedal linkage coupled between said linkage attachment and said foot engaging portion including first and second sub-linkages and a shock absorber coupled between said first and second sub-linkages to absorb shock during a collision of a person's lower extremity with the pedal apparatus during a motor vehicle accident, said shock absorber including a sleeve on said first sub-linkage forming a cavity, and a pin, said sleeve further including through aligned apertures and said second sub-linkage further including an elongated aperture, said apertures of said sleeve aligned with said elongated aperture, and said pin extending through said aligned apertures, thereby providing limited slidable engagement of said sub-linkages, said cavity containing a resilient shock absorbing material that is capable of restoring its shock absorbing capacity after absorbing an initial shock.

A method of reducing injury to a lower extremity of a motor vehicle driver in a motor vehicle accident comprising

• controlling the vehicle including actuating a pedal by the driver in a normal-use direction, the pedal configured to have a foot engaging portion and a linkage having sufficient rigidity to transmit threes exerted on the linkage by the driver pressing on the foot engaging portion during normal motor vehicle operation and a contractible portion, and
• contracting the contractible portion to a shortened condition in a direction transverse to the normal use direction when the foot engaging portion impacts the driver's lower extremity in a motor vehicle accident, thus absorbing much of the force of such impact and reducing the force absorbed by the driver's lower extremity.