Apparatus (1) for permitting release of a motor vehicle foot pedal, in a frontal crash, having a primary pedal arm (12) carrying a foot pad (14) and a secondary pedal arm (2) linked to the primary pedal arm (12) and provided at its lower end an open aperture (5) to receive a portion of a linkage pin (17). A trigger lever (6) is mounted on the secondary pedal arm (15) to be struck in a crash situation, and displaced, by a non-deformable portion (20) of a motor vehicle. The trigger lever (6) is provided at its other end with an open aperture (10) also to receive the linkage pin (17) and, in normal operation of the arrangement, to captivate the linkage pin (17) within the open aperture (5). A shearable rivet (7) connects the trigger lever (6) and the secondary pedal arm (2), restraining displacement of the trigger lever (6) with respect to the secondary pedal arm (2) so as to retain captivation of the linkage pin (17) until a crash occurs.