Highway Patrol officer helped slow a runaway Toyota Prius from 94 mph to a safe stop
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From: Obveeus on 9 Mar 2010 13:28 "Elmo P. Shagnasty" <elmop(a)nastydesigns.com> wrote: > That's funny--I just tried this. Went out on the highway, floored it, > kept my foot on the floor, and at about 78mph moved the little shift > lever over to N. > > Voila. Drive system disengaged, gas engine went to idle--even with my > foot firmly on the floor. > > And that's exactly what's supposed to happen. Even if the gas pedal is stuck to the floor or shot circuited or whatever, I'd expect that the car could not continue 'going' if it was put into neutral. No one has yet explained to me why the cars can't be put into neutral rather than drivers mindlessly jamming on the brakes. > That some morons don't know how to operate heavy machinery is not > Toyota's problem. Unfortunately, it is... Just as it is Toyota's problem that this situation is getting tons of press while many/most vehicle recalls are totally ignored by the press.
From: Mike Hunter on 9 Mar 2010 14:13 The video is all over the news, not good for Toyota. There is nothing like a visual aid that counters a point one is trying to make. Wanna bet it will end up on "Cops" or "Worlds Worst?" TheTibetanMonkey" <comandante.banana(a)yahoo.com> wrote in message news:63afaded-a68d-4313-9f8e-034da9e19ad8(a)g19g2000yqe.googlegroups.com... Another of these little MOWING MACHINES runs out of control. My take on the issue is that Toyota sends the engineers with the highest IQ to work at Lexus, while those with very low IQ are assigned to Toyota. I know because I once owned a little Toyota Tercel. UNSAFE AT ANY SPEED, you know... EL CAJON, Calif. � A California Highway Patrol officer helped slow a runaway Toyota Prius from 94 mph to a safe stop on Monday after the car's accelerator became stuck on a San Diego County freeway, the CHP said. Prius driver James Sikes called 911 about 1:30 p.m. after accelerating to pass another vehicle on Interstate 8 near La Posta and finding that he could not control his car, the CHP said. "I pushed the gas pedal to pass a car and it did something kind of funny... it jumped and it just stuck there," the 61-year-old driver said at a news conference. "As it was going, I was trying the brakes...it wasn't stopping, it wasn't doing anything and it just kept speeding up," Sikes said, adding he could smell the brakes burning he was pressing the pedal so hard. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_runaway_prius -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- THE WISE TIBETAN MONKEY SAYS "The monkey should be treated with the same respect as the lion" http://webspawner.com/users/BANANAREVOLUTION
From: Mike Hunter on 9 Mar 2010 14:18 More importantly WHY was there a NEED to turn off the engine in the first place? "Michael" <mrdarrett(a)gmail.com> wrote in message news:232701a8-e62c-45aa-9bbd-5146a51160f8(a)c37g2000prb.googlegroups.com... On Mar 9, 8:35 am, Michael <mrdarr...(a)gmail.com> wrote: > On Mar 9, 7:51 am, Conscience <nobama@g v.com> wrote: > > > On 2010-03-09 07:36:51 -0800, TheTibetanMonkey > > <comandante.ban...(a)yahoo.com> said: > > > > Another of these little MOWING MACHINES runs out of control. My take > > > on the issue is that Toyota sends the engineers with the highest IQ to > > > work at Lexus, while those with very low IQ are assigned to Toyota. > > > It's looking like an even lower IQ is required to purchase a Prius. > > > It "jumps" to 94 mph before this idiot figures out how to stop it, > > instead wasting his time on the phone. > > > Jumps, indeed. Incredible. > > From the article: > > "After the car decelerated to about 50 mph, Sikes turned off the > engine and coasted to a halt." > > Any reason he couldn't turn the engine off below 50 mph? correction... any reason he couldn't turn the engine off ABOVE 50 mph?
From: Mike Hunter on 9 Mar 2010 14:22 Why was the car our of control is another more pertinent question. "Obveeus" <Obveeus(a)aol.com> wrote in message news:hn62cl$tao$1(a)news.eternal-september.org... > > "Michael" <mrdarrett(a)gmail.com> wrote in message > news:232701a8-e62c-45aa-9bbd-5146a51160f8(a)c37g2000prb.googlegroups.com... >>On Mar 9, 8:35 am, Michael <mrdarr...(a)gmail.com> wrote: > >>> From the article: >>> >>> "After the car decelerated to about 50 mph, Sikes turned off the >>> engine and coasted to a halt." >>> >>> Any reason he couldn't turn the engine off below 50 mph? >> >>correction... any reason he couldn't turn the engine off ABOVE 50 mph? > > He was afraid that he didn't have enough straight section of road to turn > off the vehicle (steering might lock up or be too difficult for him). > > Why he didn't put it in neutral is another question. >
From: Obveeus on 9 Mar 2010 14:39
<nm5k(a)wt.net> wrote: >Dunno... Something about this story sounds really fishy to me.. >I'm almost tending to believe this is some kind of scam to get $$$$.. The likelyhood at this point is about a 99% chance that this guy is a scam artist looking for money. >I don't know.. I smell doo-doo with this story.. It will be real >interesting >to see what the Toyota people find when they go over it. Hopefully it >will not be touched until they get a chance to do so. Hopefully Toyota won't get a chance to touch it without NHTSA or some such entity standing right beside them to verify their findings...or at least document their procedure for looking ove rthe car for potential problems. >All of the cars have a neutral shift position. Thinking people use >them. If it is a mechanical control, then it would necessarily have to disengage the engine from the wheels. If it is 'fly by wire' type control, then the same computer problem that could engage the gas could also ignore attempts to shift into neutral, in theory. >In the case of my Corolla, I can just reach over and turn off the >ignition.. >I don't need no stinkin power steering either. You can steer one just >fine with no power steering, and you can stop one just fine with no >power brakes. 911? Good grief... It's pitiful, it really is... :( Sure...and if you don't have an automatic transmission you can still start the car without a starter or tow it with the wheels on the ground. Evolution of the automobile...until we end up with something like the taxis in the movie Total Recall. |