United States
A product being advertised on Amazon and across social media, a detachable step plate that attaches to the latching mechanism of a vehicle and rests in the door jamb, has the potential to cause severe injury or death, damage to vehicles, and potential harm to bystanders. It poses a major fall risk, braces against a part of the vehicle that can be damaged easily, can cause broken bones and the chance of slamming the head against the vehicle and ground causing severe injury, laceration, impaction, and death from the fall. It is a direct threat to the elderly, children, and the average targeted consumer. Under no circumstances is this product ok to be selling at all. That spot of your car is not mean to hold that much weight under those circumstances. Repeated stress on that weakens it. It also pulls it out of alignment in small increments causing progressive worsening of stressors on the door hinges, the weather stripping and seals on the door from extra pressure along the bottom, and potential problems with the locking mechanism so that one day when you think it's locked it won't be. Or the latch decided to not properly catch and opens while driving. Not to mention the lack of propper safety measures for yourself in this instance alone. The step plate can easily rotate under the foot and become dislodged due to stress on the locking mechanism and pressure on the door jamb where it's not intended to be placed. Not all vehicles have the same door jamb construction either making this even more of a risk that it doesn't rest in the same way on all vehicle models posing even more threat to the user and the property around them plus the vehicle.
Perhaps even more concerning is at least one model mentions that "The wide platform of the pedal offers plenty of stability, enough room for nearly both feet, and can safely hold up to 400lbs." NEARLY both feet. This is even more concerning as it tells the consumer that you can't fully rest your entire self safely on the product as they intend you to. You can't prevent a fall if you can't even fully stand on the step. It also fails to address what size foot it is referring to in the first place. Foot sizes vary greatly. This product and all others like it being sold are extremely dangerous and are putting lives at risk and utilizing a part of a vehicle in a way strictly forbidden by vehicle manufacturers for the safety of the consumer. This may even void the warranty of the vehicle in some cases of damage.
For an example of one of the offending products you can see the following listing on Amazon.com
www.amazon.com
Also note in this particular version that it states it sits even higher than others like it increasing the chance and risk involved as well. The trend of these devices on social media is alarming. And the threat is great.
See the following for an example on social media:
www.facebook.com
