More unintended acceleration - Government Motors involved this time.
06-09-10, 08:02 AM
#1
More unintended acceleration - Government Motors involved this time.
http://www.lex18.com/news/911-tapes-...dent-released/
I wonder what the media take will be on this.
An SUV, seemingly with a mind of its own, recently took a Kentucky woman and her two kids on a harrowing 40 mile ride.
Investigators say the gas pedal on the woman's Chevy Equinox stuck as she was driving westbound along I-64 last week, just west of Lexington near the I-75 split. State Police say the vehicle reached speeds of 95 mph, as troopers and the woman weaved in and out of traffic for nearly 40 miles.
Officials recently released the 911 tapes of the incident.
"Oh my god. (Honking.) I'm going to hit you. Oh my god. I can't stop."
Troopers finally got in front of the SUV and stopped it near exit 34 in Shelbyville.
"Relief,just relief," Trooper Mark Johnson said. "You see enough accidents. You work on the highway and usually when you have people and vehicles mix and there's a mechanical failure, or human failure, nothing good comes out of it. This time we were able to change that."
The woman and her two children were not hurt.
Click on the camera icon with this story to listen to part of that 911 tape.
Investigators say the gas pedal on the woman's Chevy Equinox stuck as she was driving westbound along I-64 last week, just west of Lexington near the I-75 split. State Police say the vehicle reached speeds of 95 mph, as troopers and the woman weaved in and out of traffic for nearly 40 miles.
Officials recently released the 911 tapes of the incident.
"Oh my god. (Honking.) I'm going to hit you. Oh my god. I can't stop."
Troopers finally got in front of the SUV and stopped it near exit 34 in Shelbyville.
"Relief,just relief," Trooper Mark Johnson said. "You see enough accidents. You work on the highway and usually when you have people and vehicles mix and there's a mechanical failure, or human failure, nothing good comes out of it. This time we were able to change that."
The woman and her two children were not hurt.
Click on the camera icon with this story to listen to part of that 911 tape.
06-09-10, 10:26 AM
#6
I'm sure there's more to the story somewhat but if the pedal is STUCK and the troopers got in front it, her tires would still be smoking and the troopers brakes must be shot also......right???
unless she remembered to shift to neutral or turned off her engine after they?
unless she remembered to shift to neutral or turned off her engine after they?
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06-09-10, 04:06 PM
#11
Agreed! This may sound unnecessary, but maybe state DMV's should require drivers to know what neutral is before they get their license's.
06-09-10, 05:19 PM
#12
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Sounds like the perfect opportunity for swat to roll in or up, attach a 5lb block of C4, and detonate it on a closed section of highway, Im sure this entire unintended acceleration BS will disappear
06-09-10, 07:24 PM
#13
Lexus Fanatic
Yep.....can a simple P R N D on the console be that difficult?
Of course, to be fair, the annoying zig-zag motion of the shift lever that some automakers use doesn't help things any. I point those out in my car reviews, where applicable. Still, even with wiggling the lever from side-to-side in those patterns, it shouldn't take more than a few seconds at most to hit neutral, if you stay calm and move the lever carefully.
I guess not everyone can stay calm under those conditions, though. In fact, look what happened in CA with that ES350 and State Trooper....and they are professional drivers who are taught to handle driving emergencies.
06-09-10, 08:09 PM
#14
Sometimes, it's not even necessary to put the car into neutral, even if you don't have some sort of "brake override" system.
If you have power assisted brakes and you are experiencing unintended acceleration, if you simply press firmly on your brakes you will eventually come to a stop.
However, if you start to firmly press on your brakes, and then you let go, and then you press the brakes again (i.e. "pumping" the brakes) - well you've just signed a death sentence (were it not for the wonders of neutral, of course).
There are so many ways to stop a car undergoing unintended acceleration via a stuck accelerator. I blame lack of driver education to be the problem. Driver's ed courses are not doing enough it seems.
If you have power assisted brakes and you are experiencing unintended acceleration, if you simply press firmly on your brakes you will eventually come to a stop.
However, if you start to firmly press on your brakes, and then you let go, and then you press the brakes again (i.e. "pumping" the brakes) - well you've just signed a death sentence (were it not for the wonders of neutral, of course).
There are so many ways to stop a car undergoing unintended acceleration via a stuck accelerator. I blame lack of driver education to be the problem. Driver's ed courses are not doing enough it seems.
06-10-10, 06:10 AM
#15
Lexus Test Driver
Yep.....can a simple P R N D on the console be that difficult?
Of course, to be fair, the annoying zig-zag motion of the shift lever that some automakers use doesn't help things any. I point those out in my car reviews, where applicable. Still, even with wiggling the lever from side-to-side in those patterns, it shouldn't take more than a few seconds at most to hit neutral, if you stay calm and move the lever carefully.
Of course, to be fair, the annoying zig-zag motion of the shift lever that some automakers use doesn't help things any. I point those out in my car reviews, where applicable. Still, even with wiggling the lever from side-to-side in those patterns, it shouldn't take more than a few seconds at most to hit neutral, if you stay calm and move the lever carefully.
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