Padded pedal covers should become mandatory in all new vehicles to protect all users from the vibrations in the pedals. There can be a lot of vibrations from the pedals that drivers use when driving. Some people, who drive for their jobs, do get health problems in their knees, legs and lower backs.
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There is a correlation between driving many hours every day and knee pain in taxi drivers according to a scientific study done in Taiwan: see www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1448301/ .
Vibrations of the road and engine being transmitted through the pedals into the legs of the driver could be the cause. Padded pedal covers could stop the worst effects of the vibrations.
Every year in the UK 100,000 knee replacement operations are carried out and this could help reduce these numbers.