CHP officer and family are killed, gas pedal stuck

[dubois]

http://www.sandiego6.com/mostpopular/story/Santee-CHP-officer-Saylor-killed-Lexus-accelerator/AzYjOhtvFE2mIuxTtxrK4Q.cspx

You can follow the discussion from another board: http://www.planet-9.com/general-off-topic/36777-chp-officer-family-die-when-accelerator-pedal-sticks.html

Real sad news, how could this happen? I personally get a feeling that some cars have a mind of their own, every time I drive them in the shop, my list includes the most hybrids including the Prius. Anything with a stop/start button, please know that some cars have a 3 second required touch or another protocol to be turn off. This is a tragedy, and I am sure we will hear more about this.

[jgerock]

There was a big story on the news in Atlanta at Thanksgiving. A local guy with a late model 4Runner claimed he experienced this and it even happened after he removed the floor mats. He is setting up a digital video recorder under the dash for liability purposes.

Toyota is trying to lay the blame on aftermarket floor mats - but there may be other underhood issues. The current "fix" is that Toyota dealers will cut a portion of the pedal until a replacement shorter gas pedal is produced and installed.

Kind of reminds me of the "unintended acceleration" woes bestowed upon the Audi 5000 years ago.

[M3M3]

every time i hear about these gas pedal stuck or claims of cars with minds of their own causing accidents i have to wonder if the driver didn't just stand on the gas pedal thinking it was the brake. there are multiple ways to stop an accelerating car...

-take foot off gas

-stand on brake. the brake system in any car made will overpower the engine.

-turn off the key

-take it out of gear

but instead, it is always easier to blame the big pocket corporations and make some money with a lawsuit. its the american way.

[dubois]

every time i hear about these gas pedal stuck or claims of cars with minds of their own causing accidents i have to wonder if the driver didn't just stand on the gas pedal thinking it was the brake. there are multiple ways to stop an accelerating car...

-take foot off gas

-stand on brake. the brake system in any car made will overpower the engine.

-turn off the key

-take it out of gear

but instead, it is always easier to blame the big pocket corporations and make some money with a lawsuit. its the american way.

Please read the follow up article investigation:

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-fi-toyota-recall18-2009oct18,0,6027180,full.story

With the Lexus model in question, you cannot do any of the 4 actions easily, as explained by some of the experts in the article. Some witnesses also saw the wheels on fire for at least a mile, meaning he was standing on the brakes, but the engine at full throtle won that battle. At the very end of the article (which is long, but worth reading in its entirety), explains how cars have become very complex and their entire features may not be known to its operator. The lack of a safe software feature (which apparently Porsche has) to kill the gas when brakes are applied at full throtle is also mentioned. Even the company Toyota acknowledges the problem. Regardless, it is a tragedy, which sadly enough, it what historically has taken to improve the design safety margins. At least Toyota is taking notes and most likely working 24-7 getting a fix in place.

[M3M3]

read it. still not buying it. article talks about stopping a car from 120. the stopping should have been happening at about 45, not 120. if the car got to 120, driver wasn't using the brakes.

i will confess to not drivng that model car, but every other slushbox i have driven has no barriers to pushing the stick up to the N spot.

car was a loaner, which points to driver unfamiliarity with the operation of the vehicle. doesn't matter how experienced the driver, if you don't know how the car operates, you are not going to do the right thing in an emergency.

[TTyMiller]

My pedal has been stuck on a parkway, carpet or whatever and I reacheddown and pulled it up along with pulling the damn emergency brake up!