Woman survives stuck accelerator, speeds of 110 MPH". What would YOU do?

[Brian41]

It happened to me in a new 1968 Chevy Impala with 327 motor and auto transmission. It had broken motor mounts and later a recall that Ralph Nader was involved in.
I was in a parking lot when it happened and put it in neutral, hit the brakes and shut the ignition off. It was over in seconds but quite exciting for a few moments there. The motor shifted back and drove normally after that until the dealer found and fixed the motor mounts as car was still under warranty.

 

[Straightshooter2]

For Heaven's sake, man, come back and tell us how!!!
The suspense is killing us.

Place the cookie sheet in your right hand on the stove and release. Pour rest of whiskey sitting on the counter down the drain. Tell 911 Operator to have a nice day. Hang up phone.

CW

 

[truckemup97]

I wasn't there, and I've never driven a Kia Sorento, so I have no idea if you can turn it off "in flight", shift to neutral, or if the brakes are stronger than the engine. Since none of the rest of us were there, either, why are we running this woman through the shredder?

I've had two runaways, both in trucks. Both times the throttle return spring broke. Both times the brakes were stronger than the engine, and both times I was able to drive safely to somewhere to get help. Does that make me any better than the woman in the Kia? Nope. Different vehicles, different circumstances.

I think if it had been your wife, mother, daughter or sister, you wouldn't be saying the things you are.

Whew! Something is seriously wrong when I become the voice of sanity!

 

[Cooter Brown]

I just heard the 911 tape.She said the transmission wouldn't shift out of drive. Many modern cars have an interlock that requires you to apply the brake to shift. It is possible that she wasn't applying the brake when she tried to shift. She also said the car has a pushbutton to start it and because of that she couldn't just shut it off. I believe that starting with a car going 60-70 and then the thing accelerates full throttle that the brakes would fade before the car stops. She called her husband first and he wasn't able to suggest anything that worked, then she called 911. I think the car was a Kia.

This is correct.

Some of you guys sure are hard on people based on mistaken assumptions. She tried to put it in neutral but wasn't able to.

My understanding is that over a certain speed many modern cars lock the shifter in drive whether you're applying the brake or not. There was a discussion on this forum a while back with the same results until it was pointed out that most modern automatic transmissions have this design "feature".

Some of you people are awfully quick to label someone an idiot without knowing all the facts. As far as I'm concerned she and the 911 operator did a good job in a bad situation.

 

[LVSteve]

I just heard the 911 tape.She said the transmission wouldn't shift out of drive. Many modern cars have an interlock that requires you to apply the brake to shift. It is possible that she wasn't applying the brake when she tried to shift. She also said the car has a pushbutton to start it and because of that she couldn't just shut it off. I believe that starting with a car going 60-70 and then the thing accelerates full throttle that the brakes would fade before the car stops. She called her husband first and he wasn't able to suggest anything that worked, then she called 911. I think the car was a Kia.

A car that cannot be shifted out of drive without the brake pedal if a menace, pure and simple. Most cars in the US these days require you to push the brake to go into a gear.

The pushbutton thing has been discussed in other places. With all I have seen you just have to hold your finger on the button, ignore the dire warnings flashed on the dash display and wait for it to shut down.

If Kia have made them so that you cannot immediately shift into neutral or kill the motor, the NHTSA should ground them all, immediately.

One more thing. All modern cars have a rev limiter, so if you select neutral under the circumstances described above, the motor just bounces off the limiter but never overrevs. In many cars the rev limit is often set LOWER when a car is in neutral.

 

[ParadiseRoad]

I think if it had been your wife, mother, daughter or sister, you wouldn't be saying the things you are.

...my wife and I have had this discussion...she asked me what to do if a car did run away. I told her what I have stated previously in this thread...put it in neutral...pull over...shut it off. That's what should be in the 911 manual...nine simple words could save lives.

...in my previous post about the Toyota...after the tragic situation had occured...the Toyota dealer asked all of his employees what the neutral position did...what was it's function. The majority didn't know.

EDIT...I was typing during the last three posts...

If Kia have made them so that you cannot immediately shift into neutral or kill the motor, the NHTSA should ground them all, immediately.

...I agree...wholeheartedly...

 

[ogilvyspecial]

Considering that about every conceivable method, or combinations thereof,
for dealing with a "runaway" vehicle has been discussed and this thread is also
starting to runaway, I'll try revjay's advice before we pick up anymore speed.

Ah, maybe stomp on the brake?