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

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dan01 said:
I know someone that tried to stop a run a way by putting the trans in Park.
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Funny, I knew a runaway that met up with a tranny at the park.........:rolleyes:


It happened a long time ago on one of my racebikes. Road America, Wisconsin. Headed down the front straight, about 155mph, maybe 160 and when I lifted to start braking for turn 1...... the motor was full beans and I was chopping the throttle madly. The old V4 Hondas had some linkage issues if they were not installed very carefully when they were switched to push-pull cables.

I managed tro slow it to about 65 before I stuffed into the haybakes and went for a short flight. Even with the kill switch flipped, the motor dieseled pretty good on the leftover fuel being sucked from the carbs under the vacuum created by the high compression.

Kids, don't try this at home.;)
 
I had another one that wasnt quite as bad with a 1961 oldsmobile. Both incidents, it and my older post, were due to engine mounts breaking and the motor will twist and open the throttle.
 
Its been 46 years ago so I can tell it now. I gassed up my 1946 luscombe that didnt have a starter. I should have got someone to hand prop me but I didnt know or see anyone there. I had done it many times with the tail chained down and even got away with it before a few times without tyeing the tail down. This time I must have set the throttle a tad too far open. I swung the prop and the plane started out without me! I jumped out of the way, ran around and grabbed a strutt, hanging on to that with one hand was running along side and was able to get to reopen the door and throttle back. This was in san fernando california. The plane probley might have took off it didnt hit something first and probley crash like a kamo kuzzi somewhere in the los angeles area! I have heard of it happening before! Until now, nobody else knew of my blunder!
 
jarhead 0802 said:
so her car went full throttle and she didn't have the common sense to save her dumb ***, but was able to pick up the phone and make a call? She should be taken to the nearest vet and spayed immediately.
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...I'm willing to bet she was already on the phone when it happened...put her call on hold...and called 911...probably resumed the original call when she got it stopped.
 
"PUT THE CAR IN NEUTRAL YOU IDIOTS! Guaranteed to slow or stop forward motion. I can GUARANTEE this can be done in every car out there.
You can turn the key off and NOT lock the steering, again, in every car out there I"ve ever seen/driven (was a mechanic and service advisor for 20 some years).
go try it in your car and you'll see."

You are dead right with that last piece of advice.

With every car I've owned (the ones with power brakes and/or steering anyway) since the late 60's I find a safe place, get up to speed, shut the ignition and see how it stops and steers.

Unless it's a '69 Electra 225 or the like it should stop and maneuver just fine.

I'm convinced a large percentage of drivers have no seat-of-the-pants driving skills, a result of dependency on ABS, Traction Control, Stability Control etc. - JP
 
jimmy.jet said:
"PUT THE CAR IN NEUTRAL YOU IDIOTS! Guaranteed to slow or stop forward motion. I can GUARANTEE this can be done in every car out there.
You can turn the key off and NOT lock the steering, again, in every car out there I"ve ever seen/driven (was a mechanic and service advisor for 20 some years).
go try it in your car and you'll see."

You are dead right with that last piece of advice.

With every car I've owned (the ones with power brakes and/or steering anyway) since the late 60's I find a safe place, get up to speed, shut the ignition and see how it stops and steers.

Unless it's a '69 Electra 225 or the like it should stop and maneuver just fine.

I'm convinced a large percentage of drivers have no seat-of-the-pants driving skills, a result of dependency on ABS, Traction Control, Stability Control etc. - JP
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Remember Gm's Saginaw steering columns? When you turn the key off, the steering wheel locks. How many of those did you see? ;):eek:
 
It's a Sorento!

This was a newer car, not a GM relic with a pot metal steering lock that is defeated with a screwdriver. The 1986 Olds got stolen from work by kids for a joy ride. Had a trashed steering column when recovered.

I had a 1967 Chevy with a 307 CI engine that was upgraded with a Holley 4-barrel carb. If you are an air force aircraft mechanic, anything can be improved. The vacuum open secondaries on the carb were adjusted to open sooner. Too bad the secondaries wouldn't close after 10 seconds of full throttle. My foot is off the gas, car is at 75 MPH and accelerating with vigor. Turned off the key, coasted to the side of the road, and restarted the engine.

Tried full throttle again with the same result, used same solution. Drove home and "fixed" the vacuum open secondaries for correct operation.

You can turn the key from "RUN" to "OFF" and shift to NEUTRAL, the steering functions, brakes function, and the engine stops. Brakes aren't great (but work with effort) and steering is hard (no power assist), but nothing gets destroyed.

Motorist, "My throttle is stuck wide open!!!!!!!!! "

911 operator, "Say the Lord's Prayer and aim carefully."
 
Poodle Soup said:
"Hi 911 Im getting seriously burnt at my house"
"Is your house on fire?"
"No Im holding onto a cookie sheet that just came out of the oven, how do I make this stop?"
Click to expand...

For Heaven's sake, man, come back and tell us how!!!
The suspense is killing us.
 
"Remember Gm's Saginaw steering columns? When you turn the key off, the steering wheel locks. How many of those did you see?"
I never had one that locked but that's the point in finding a "safe" place to test your car, just in case .
What models had the Saginaw columns?-JP
 
OK, update time thanks to a friend on Facebook, where I also posted this.
Apparently this vehicle had a keyless ignition, whatever that is.:eek: They advised her she could try to throw the key fob out the window, and MAYBE that would kill the engine.
My friend couldn't comment on shifting into neutral, although I can't see how that would be a problem.
One more reason to hate newer cars.
Jim
 
P&R Fan said:
OK, update time thanks to a friend on Facebook, where I also posted this.
Apparently this vehicle had a keyless ignition, whatever that is.:eek: They advised her she could try to throw the key fob out the window, and MAYBE that would kill the engine.
My friend couldn't comment on shifting into neutral, although I can't see how that would be a problem.
One more reason to hate newer cars.
Jim
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I believe once the Key fob is over a certain distance away from the vehicle, the signal is lost for ignition, and vehicle will die. I'm not sure then what functions you'd have or wouldn't have at this point.
 
jimmy.jet said:
"Remember Gm's Saginaw steering columns? When you turn the key off, the steering wheel locks. How many of those did you see?"
I never had one that locked but that's the point in finding a "safe" place to test your car, just in case .
What models had the Saginaw columns?-JP
Click to expand...

Too many to list or remember. Millions were made. It was the standard column for 30 or so years in GM and Jeep vehicles. Chrysler and Ford also had their versions.
 
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Engineer1911 said:
This was a newer car, not a GM relic with a pot metal steering lock that is defeated with a screwdriver. The 1986 Olds got stolen from work by kids for a joy ride. Had a trashed steering column when recovered.

I had a 1967 Chevy with a 307 CI engine that was upgraded with a Holley 4-barrel carb. If you are an air force aircraft mechanic, anything can be improved. The vacuum open secondaries on the carb were adjusted to open sooner. Too bad the secondaries wouldn't close after 10 seconds of full throttle. My foot is off the gas, car is at 75 MPH and accelerating with vigor. Turned off the key, coasted to the side of the road, and restarted the engine.

Tried full throttle again with the same result, used same solution. Drove home and "fixed" the vacuum open secondaries for correct operation.

You can turn the key from "RUN" to "OFF" and shift to NEUTRAL, the steering functions, brakes function, and the engine stops. Brakes aren't great (but work with effort) and steering is hard (no power assist), but nothing gets destroyed.

Motorist, "My throttle is stuck wide open!!!!!!!!! "

911 operator, "Say the Lord's Prayer and aim carefully."
Click to expand...

Federal regulations did not require locking steering wheels until 1968.
 
P&R Fan said:
OK, update time thanks to a friend on Facebook, where I also posted this.
Apparently this vehicle had a keyless ignition, whatever that is.:eek: They advised her she could try to throw the key fob out the window, and MAYBE that would kill the engine.
My friend couldn't comment on shifting into neutral, although I can't see how that would be a problem.
One more reason to hate newer cars.
Jim
Click to expand...

Jim, "keyless" ignitions are becoming the standard slowly but surely. Throwing the key out the window will not help.

When you unlock the doors with remote, the vehicle recognizes the frequency and knows it's you. And it allows you to start the car once your inside by means of a push button start switch. No need for a key. So once the car is started, the remote has done it's job. It cannot turn the engine off. You must simply push the button again to turn it off.
 
Throttle stuck on my Harley about 20 years ago... in heavy traffic. It was a ride to remember for about 30 seconds.

Clutch in... wait, engine will blow. Not my Harley! Clutch out and away she goes.

Front brake on... front tire locked and screeching. Torque from engine slowly leans bike over to the right. Release brake split second before falling over. Away she goes, again.

Dodging cars as I try to reach key on lower left side of bike. Why in the Hell did they put it THERE? On 3rd or 4th attempt I turn the key and the engine dies. Pull over, get off, and shake for about 10 minutes.

THEN... then I recall the kill switch under my right thumb on the controls.

Older and wiser, now. Agreed... neutral and screw the engine.
 
The runaway car is normally, if not always, an automatic transmission vehicle. Audi went through the legal mess. Drivers hit the gas and swear it was the brake.

My old Mustang GT could overpower the back drum brakes but not the front ones. The back tires will smoke up and the car will not move at all. The car puts out a lot more than stick power.

There are many drivers on the road who are not skilled. It us the same with all sorts of technology.

Once, my ex-wife was trying to turn off the vent fan over the stove. It would not turn off despite flipping the switch back and forth and demonstrated the problem to me. However, I noticed the light going on and off during the switching. I looked at her a bit and asked her to look at the stove light. She finally saw she was flipping the wrong switch. She is a very smart person who allowed herself to ignore the obvious.

In solving problems, I always tell people to notice the obvious. If the car speeds up when I have my foot on the brake, it is obvious I am doing something wrong.
 
ScottieG59 said:
... If the car speeds up when I have my foot on the brake, it is obvious I am doing something wrong.
Click to expand...

Or the car's doing something wrong.

Many newer cars are *fly by wire*.
There's a pot connected to the *gas pedal* that's connected to the computer that's connected to the engine's throttle - The foot is no longer connected to the motor :eek:
A shorted pot, or even just stuck at it's extreme and AWAY you go.
On older, carburated engines it wasn't hard to either break the return spring or have the linkage maladjusted to the point that the butterfly could go over center and there you GO again.

The only time I've had a car run away (60 Impala, 348 Tri-Power) was because of some fool missadjusting the carb linkage :o -
Standing on the brakes seemed to speed the car up :eek:
Turning the ignition off caused the engine to hydraulic and blow the head on the left side to pieces - The car did stop though :cool:
Several friends found the damage to the engine internals to be a lot of laughs :D - So I guess it turned out OK in the long run...
 
A) turn off the ignition.

B) put the car in neutral and let the engine blow.

I can understand a rapid acceleration when you aren't ready getting you in trouble, but you've got to be a moron to let the car run away like that over time.
 
Beep beep beep beep
His horn went beep beep beep
While riding in my Cadillac
What to my surprise
A little Nash Rambler was following me
About one third my size
The guy musta wanted to pass me up
As he kept on tooting his horn
I'll show him that a Cadillac is not a car to scorn
Beep beep beep beep
His horn went beep beep beep

I pushed my foot down to the floor
To give the guy the shake
But the little Nash Rambler stayed right behind
He still had on his brake
He musta thought his car had more guts
As he kept on tooting his horn (beep beep)
I'll show him that a Cadillac is not a car to scorn
Beep beep beep beep
His horn went beep beep beep

My car went into passing gear
And we took off with gust (whoosh)
Soon we were going ninety
Musta left him in the dust
When I peeked in the mirror of my car
I couldn't believe my eyes
The little Nash Rambler was right behind
You'd think that guy could fly
Beep beep beep beep
His horn went beep beep beep

Now we were doing a hundred and ten
This certainly was a race
For a Rambler to pass a Caddy
Would be a big disgrace
The guy musta wanted to pass me up
As he kept on tooting his horn (beep beep)
I'll show him that a Cadillac is not a car to scorn
Beep beep beep beep
His horn went beep beep beep

Now we're going a hundred twenty
As fast as I can go
The Rambler pulled along side of me
As if we were going slow
The fella rolled down his window
And yelled for me to hear
"Hey buddy how do I get this car outa second gear?"

Click Here
 
arjay said:
Have an ex wife that put her car in park while it was moving.
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Back in college, I borrowed a friend's car for a date. After I dropped her off, I was headed home and decided to open it up on the highway. This was 70s era muscle car with 4,243 cubic inches under the hood, generating about 23,000 horsepower and getting .25 miles per gallon.

It had an automatic with a floor shifter so I'm shifting 1st to 2nd. Bwaaaaaaaaaa. . . . .. somewhere around 90 mph, I go to shift into D and skip right past it, past N, and into R.

BANG! Yes that was the sound. BANG! The car stalled and came to a sudden stop.

Hmmmmm. . .. thought about it. Figured out what happpened. Restarted the engine and went back to playing Speed Racer.

Never did have any transmission problems.
 
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.
 
It is possible that she wasn't applying the brake when she tried to shift
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...that's because her foot was on "the other brake"...the one on the right.

...the 911 manual should state:

...tell driver to grab his/her ankles and kiss their *** goodbye...

...that way they will pull their right foot off the right (wrong) pedal and the situation is resolved...

...P.S...one of these occured a while back in California...speeds reached 120mph...four people in the car were killed when the driver finally lost control. The driver was an off duty California Highway Patrolman...

Click Here
 
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