Oh yes, I understand and agree. I also wished I had been more clear in my original question.
I should have asked: “My wife’s feet are small and in order to reach the brake pedal easier, she decided to put a folded towel underneath the floor mat to “raise” up the floorboard. That way, with her heel on the floor mat, she claims she can reach the brake pedal easier.
Why is this dangerous and how can I convince her to stop doing that?”
An answer that I can share with her would very much be appreciated.
The floor board is supposed to a solid stable area ( a towel is not even under a floor mat ) having ones heel on the floor reduces the leverage she might need in a hurry - if she is unable to lift her foot so it can be placed securely on the brake pedal maybe she should not drive - I may be completely wrong here but if she rear ends someone and during the accident investigation the modifying towel might be an issue for the insurance company
EDIT:
While most of here think this practice is not safe maybe you could call a local drivers training school and see what they say.
Actually I think pedal designs have changed over the years. Seems to me the brake pedal used to be closer to the floor and now they are higher up, more like what a brake pedal on a manual transmission would be. In essence all she is doing is raising the floor board a little or in effect lowering the pedal to the floor. I think it should be something more solid like a board but I’m having trouble seeing how this is dangerous. Seems to me my old Pontiac or our Merc had the pedal only a few inches off the floor. Never really paid much attention to it though.
Raising the “floor” your heels rest on is not a problem as long as the method doesn’t prevent the brake pedal and gas pedal go through their normal range of motion. A folded up towel DOES possibly get wadded up and in the way. A book or board under the floor mat would be a sturdier and safer way to go.
I remember that back in the early 60s my dads mom was so short that he bolted a piece of 2X4 to the brake, clutch and gas pedals for her so she could reach them better.
This wouldn’t help with the OPs wife though.
I would buy a set of floor mats with a short knap and glue down a piece of 2X6 where she wants to rest her heel.
That gorilla glue expands and should hold it in place real well.
You could even cover the block with a piece of carpet. Maybe from a rear mat
This should raise her heel almost 2 inches.
Yosemite
This would keep the block on place. so it wouldn’t interfere.
if she is so short she can’t reach the brake pedal all the way; get a different car; or a different wife; I have heard of blocks being added to brake pedals to allow short people to access them; they used to sell them back in the 1960s; because of liability, I don’t think anyone sells them anymore; however, I would go to ace hardware and find something that can be clamped onto the pedal that would have a rubber facing (toward the foot) and could not be misaligned or fall off; It would have to be incredibly sturdy and you would have to slammed the heck out of the brake pedal repeatedly from all angles to make sure it did not move even a tiny fraction of an inch; anything less is very dangerous
The problem is not the driver is “too short.” The problem is with the driver’s heel resting on the floor, the pedal is too high. The answer is to raise, in a safe manner, the area the heel rests on. This has been discussed quite well before your discourteous contribution.
I have no experience with the later, but I suspect getting a different car would be cheaper, plus you can select the accessories you want.
Once again, visiting a company that does handicap accommodations can provide various pedal options that would be sturdier than what Ace might have. But yeah, raising the floor a little seems like a reasonable accommodation if it can be done a little more solidly.
Jared, apology noted and accepted. I could lighten up some times! Thank you for your thoughtful response.
I started to lighten up when I read Bing’s response - that compared to a different wife, a different car would be cheaper, plus you can select the accessories you want!