Why didn't she turn the ignition off? I heard the advice for the Toyota
problem was to stomp on the brakes, shift to neutral and turn the ignition
off. It seems to me I could grab the key more quickly than I can find
neutral.
Brian K
On 2/1/10 10:09 PM, "eric@megageek.com" <eric@megageek.com> wrote:
> Steve writes...
>
>> What was interesting to me is that this is a media event. My Eagle Talon
>> was recalled in 1996 for a sticking throttle and nothing was said. Guess
>> it isn't any fun scaring anyone if it's a small segment of the popul
>
>
> Steve, the problem is with the shear amount of cars affected. The entire
> Eagle marquee, didn't SELL as many vehicles that is affected by this
> single recall. (It is the largest single recall ever in US history.)
>
> It is a serious problem. Most "normal" people could figure out to hit the
> brakes, and shift into neutral. But most drivers aren't "normal!"
> Remember, we are NOT representative of the average car driving public.
>
> When I was a cop, back in the early nineties, we had a driver of a VW
> (Golf I believe) who's linkage broke and forced the car into full
> throttle. She called 911 as she was speeding down a major highway (Rt 78)
> She covered most of the state as the Troopers and local PD's tried to
> clear a path for her. The hope was that she would be able to shift it
> into neutral (for some reason it was jammed.) The brakes lasted about 10
> minutes and were completely gone (but were only able to slow the car down
> for that time. As she approached the NYC border, things were tense. She
> had a half tank of gas left, and there was nothing left to try.
>
> She swerved into the grassy median at over 100 MPH. The car was totally
> ripped apart. Due to all the safety features of the car's body, she
> survived but with injuries. The car was unrecognizable after the
> accident.
>
> Three things saved her that night. The cell phone, the fact that it was
> late (and almost no traffic on the road), and the safety design of that
> car.
>
> The investigation showed it was a problem with the linkage that forced the
> car in full throttle and prevented the A/T from being shifted in neutral.
>
> One thing that I remember during the AAR, was that if we would have let
> her intentionally hit a police car from behind, and the lead car try to
> stop, it might have worked. BUT, the police department would have been
> liable for ALL injuries she sustained. By letting her run off the road,
> the police departments weren't liable. Now you know why I hate the fact
> that Americans are so litigious. This wasn't a decision that was made
> that night, but it was investigated and became policy for situations like
> this.
>
> Moose
> "Be as beneficent as the sun or the sea, but if your rights as a rational
> being are trenched on, die on the first inch of your territory." Ralph
> Waldo Emerson
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