WTF Stories of the Week

[Cadaverous Pallor]

This reminds me of the guy who left his toddler in the car by mistake while he went in to work all day, because he wasn't usually the one to drop the kid off at day care. The child died.

I don't think I found a single soul who didn't empathize with the guy. It ruined his life. If I remember correctly he got a very light sentence because it was obvious that he was a broken man due to this awful accident.

Moonliner, I daresay that if you had to face a man who had mistakenly killed his loved ones, you wouldn't say "you could have done better".

Now as to whether we can learn something from this, well I daresay that if I were driving someone else's car for one trip I wouldn't remember to find out how to stop it if the accelerator gets stuck, same as I wouldn't find out a million other quirks of the car. That would be a long safety list to go over.

[Moonliner]

Originally Posted by Alex

Ok, so going back to your original question:

Apparently, the answer is no.

That said, the driver may very well have done the right stuff but not known how in an unfamiliar car because that model has some still unusual features. Here's what one owner posted on a message board:

It is worth noting that the fact that to turn off the engine while the car is in motion requires pushing the button for 3 seconds is not mentioned in the owner's manual.

And the NHTSB issued a report in 2007 that Lexus drivers have reported difficulty stopping cars with stuck accelerators because of these issues, plus

So it is quite possible that he:

1. Tried to put it in neutral but because the car was in a mode that he may not even have known existed, was not actually performing the maneuver necessary.

2. Then tried to turn off the car but couldn't.

3. And meanwhile he's breaking hard but quickly losing braking power.

4. He's dealing with trying to figure all of this out while weaving through traffic in a car going over 100 miles per hour.

Do I know that is what happened? No, but I wasn't there like you were. If it did, does this mean it was still an avoidable accident. Sure, if that is the lesson one really wants to find in it. The man was trained in advanced driving skills, he was apparently reasonably calm as you hear him providing information on where they are, reports are that he had his hazard lights on. Why jump to the conclusion that he behaved stupidly otherwise? He may have, but why assume it?

Also, you mentioned the time it takes to get up to 120 miles per hour. According this video, in a Lexus ES350 it takes 11 seconds to go from 0 to 120. 5-6 seconds if you're already going freeway speeds. I imagine most of the time was spend trying to figure out if one's gone crazy and your foot really isn't on the accelerator.

You're correct, we don't know what the driver did, we don't even know if the floor mats played a roll or not. It's all just speculation. At least until the full accident report is released.

What we do know, is that if a car is accelerating out of control, putting it in neutral, hitting the emergency break and standing on the regular breaks will bring a car to a stop in less time that it takes for a passenger to make a 911 call.


If you look at the control panel for the ES350 you will see there is nothing odd or non-standard with the gear pattern. Neutral is right where is it supposed to be. There is no "mode" that disables it, including cruise control.

[Ghoulish Delight]

There is a model of the 350 that has a manual-shift mode similar to the one in my Mazda 3. If the stick is in that mode, pushing up does not put the car into neutral, it upshifts the geabox.

[Alex]

Originally Posted by Moonliner

What we do know, is that if a car is accelerating out of control, putting it in neutral, hitting the emergency break and standing on the regular breaks will bring a car to a stop in less time that it takes for a passenger to make a 911 call.

You quoted what I wrote, did you read any of it? Such as the part where this model does have a mode that made moving it to neutral not actually be neutral?

Or the other part where standing on the brakes while the throttle plate is fully open can, as reported by the NHTSA, actually cause them to quickly lose effectiveness?

Again, he could have been the biggest idiot driver ever. But I haven't been inconvenienced by Toyota wanting floor mats reviewed so I'm sure I don't have the correct incentives in reading about this.

[Morrigoon]

The accelerator stuck open on my Mercedes a few years ago. I was going 80+mph, up the steep side of the grapevine, WITH the brakes on. And yes, my first instinct was to throw it in neutral, which caused the rpms to skyrocket and the engine to sound, as previously mentioned, like it would explode if I kept it there. It took me the entirety of the trip up the steep side of the grapevine (eg: heading south on 5) to get the car under control. Assuming that "under control" includes veering off on a dark mountain road, throwing it into neutral anyway, then shutting the key off (which I didn't realize I could just do, having never turned off a car while in motion before).

I understand perfectly why it would have taken him so long.

[Kevy Baby]

Originally Posted by Alex

I did put the car in neutral for bursts but let me tell you that the noises a car in neutral makes with an open throttle is extremely scary in itself and it feels like you're making a choice between having the car go uncontrollably fast and having the car explode.

Even though I am replying to a post from Alex, I am just using it as a reference point: my comment is not specifically directed at Alex.

If my two choices are blowing up an engine or having no other way to interrupt the situation and possibly crashing at 120 MPH, I will blow up the engine.

[Alex]

Yes, that is absolutely the right choice. Especially when it won't actually blow up the engine.

That said, if you don't know that the choice doesn't feel like:

A. Keep going 120 miles hour; or
B. Put it in neutral, risk destroying the engine, and stop safely

but rather

A. Keep going 120 miles hour and try to find some way to stop the car; or
B. Destroy the engine while still going pretty fast, and possibly lose all power and control.

That was one of my concerns when it happened to me. If I killed the engine (either by turning the ignition or destroying it) what would still work? If I lost power steering and power brakes how well would I be able to try and stop the car while avoiding all the other cars around me.

It also felt weird to steer around other cars while going at high speeds in neutral.

But yes, with the experience of more driving experience I should have moved to an edge lane, put my hazards on, put it in neutral and just stood on the brake until I was going slow enough that I could pull onto the shoulder safely.

[JWBear]

Conservative Christian Group Editing Bible to Remove Liberal Bias

You just can't make this sh!t up folks!

[Alex]

It has always simplified the task of translating the bible into modern vernacular if you decide first what it will say then go back to primary sources.

[Morrigoon]

Originally Posted by JWBear

Conservative Christian Group Editing Bible to Remove Liberal Bias

You just can't make this sh!t up folks!

Just wait till they get all the way through it and read Revelation 22:18

(Hilarity will ensue)