Accelerating Hype and the Cell Phone Response

[60south]

<disbelief>

So you're Joe-Toyota-Owner and your gas pedal sticks down. It could be any car. Heck, my old Subaru had a rusty throttle that would stick open on cold mornings. That made for a lively commute.

You're racing down the freeway. Death is imminent. Do you...

Turn off the engine... No.

Put it in neutral... No.

Gear down... No.

Use the emergency brake -- that's EMERGENCY brake... No.

What do you do? You pull out your cell phone and make a call.

WHAT!?! And this is the second guy to do that.

</disbelief>

[Geek]

Commen sense..... isn't commen

[mz53480]

So you're Joe-Toyota-Owner and your gas pedal sticks down....You're racing down the freeway. Death is imminent. Do you...

???(press on the brake pedal)????
???(press up on the gas pedal and try to get it to release)????
??? (open the door and jump out (not an option if you have dive gear in the car though))???
???(if you have dive gear in the car, aim for the nearest body of water and assemble gear & dive whilst waiting for rescue)???

[60south]

Ah-Ha! This Forbes Article is equally incredulous and points to this incident being a hoax.

Regarding the 'driver' of the Prius:

... reveals that Sikes and his wife Patty in 2008 filed for bankruptcy and are over $700,000 in debt. Among their creditors is Toyota Financial Services for a lease on a 2008 Toyota Prius, with value at time of bankruptcy of $20,494. The Jalopnik Web site shows a copy of Toyota's secured claims form, though when Jalopnik questioned Sikes by e-mail he denied being behind on his Prius payments. Sikes also has a history of filing insurance claims for allegedly stolen items...

It's all media hype!

Okay, I'll get off the soapbox now...

[lamont]

"Sikes later said he ... was afraid the car would flip if he put it in neutral at such high speed."

WTF?

the guy is either bad at lying or just plain stupid.

[Mongodives]

I'll vote for plain stupid.
Either that or he's one of the increasing numbers of people who didn't attend driver's training and waited until he was 18 to take his driver's test. So was never taught what to do.

[bigsky]

odd
when ford explorers were killing people
i do not ever remember reading about the injured parties financial statements



http://www.safetyresearch.net/2010/03/0 ... ody-knows/

"Juanita Grossman was a petite 77-year-old woman who died from the injuries sustained from barreling into a building full-speed in her 2003 Camry in March 2004. When the emergency medical technicians arrived to transport Mrs. Grossman to the hospital they found her with both feet still jammed on the brake pedal."

[lamont]

I'll vote for plain stupid.
Either that or he's one of the increasing numbers of people who didn't attend driver's training and waited until he was 18 to take his driver's test. So was never taught what to do.

I never had training either...

I don't know why you need training to be able to think through putting it in neutral or shutting off the engine...

[Mongodives]

You don't need training, just a little common sense, but it seems common sense isn't that common anymore.

[BASSMAN]

<disbelief>

So you're Joe-Toyota-Owner and your gas pedal sticks down. It could be any car. Heck, my old Subaru had a rusty throttle that would stick open on cold mornings. That made for a lively commute.

You're racing down the freeway. Death is imminent. Do you...

Turn off the engine... No.

Put it in neutral... No.

Gear down... No.

Use the emergency brake -- that's EMERGENCY brake... No.

What do you do? You pull out your cell phone and make a call.

WHAT!?! And this is the second guy to do that.

</disbelief>

10,000 swimmers, and these were the fastest ?

[airsix]

I think drivers license written tests should be a physics test.
The driving test shouldn't be about parking and other nonsense. It should be about accident avoidance and vehicle control.
Today's drivers treat a car like an appliance, not the respect-deserving mass of kinetic energy that it is. If you can't demonstrate an understanding of it's systems and ability to control it you shouldn't be allowed to operate it.

[spatman]

Today's drivers treat a car like an appliance, not the respect-deserving mass of kinetic energy that it is. If you can't demonstrate an understanding of it's systems and ability to control it you shouldn't be allowed to operate it.

i also think that the driver's road test should be re-administered every few years.

my 2psi.

[lamont]

I think drivers license written tests should be a physics test.

Agreed.

Also, in the driving tests they should do it on a special track that has black ice that you drive over, and a simulated icy driveway that you need to get up, without putting it into the ditch. Hydroplaning would be another good simulation.