The California Highway Patrol says an officer helped slow a runaway Toyota Prius from 94 mph to a safe stop after the accelerator got stuck.
The CHP says the driver, Jim Sikes, said he was traveling east on Interstate 8 outside of the San Diego area when he attempted to pass a slower vehicle.
“I pushed the gas pedal to pass a car, and it just did something kind of funny … and it just stuck there,” he said at a news conference outside a Highway Patrol office. “As I was going, I was trying the brakes … and it just kept speeding up.”
Sikes said he called 911 for help, and dispatchers talked him through instructions on how he might be able to stop the car. But nothing worked.
At one point, Sikes said he reached down to try to pull the accelerator up, but it “stayed right where it was.”
A patrol car pulled alongside, and officers told Sikes over a loudspeaker to use the brakes and emergency brake simultaneously.
After slowing to about 50 mph, Sikes felt safe enough to turn off the engine and coast to a halt.
In a statement, Toyota says it has dispatched a specialist to investigate. Toyota has undertaken a mass recall of many of its vehicles for sudden acceleration problems. It was not clear if Sikes’ car was recalled or fixed.
(Source: http://www.businessweek.com/)
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9 Responses
what i cant understand is why he didnt shut the engine off right away. why the whole shpiel that could cost him his life?
Did these people ever learn how to drive? do they know what NEUTRAL is!!!???? that is what they teach you to do if your accelerator sticks- put it in neutral and move to the shoulder with your flashers on. NEVER use brakes together with accelerator.
#1 if you shut the engine you will loose steering ability. the emergency brake is probably the best thing you can do in a situation like this
Punktfarkert – “Neutral” is something cars from the 20th century had. The Prius does not have a transmission control – just “On”, “Off”, “Reverse”.
To “refael613” (commenter no. 1):
The main problem with turning off the engine is that on most modern vehicles you lose the power steering. The car becomes VERY difficult to steer for people who don’t have a great deal of upper body strength. It’s less of a problem on a straight-away, but extremely dangerous at high speeds on a curvy road. If the driver cannot steer through the curves, the likelihood of crashing into something (or someone) increases dramatically.
Shifting to neutral is the correct response. When the car slows down to a more manageable speed it’s safe to turn of the ignition, apply the brakes and pull over if there’s a shoulder.
Shmeeel behind the Wheeel, that is very scary. I don’t get this over confidence of our technology. If it were up to me, I would have left an optional crank in the cars so that you should never have to wait for a boost.
HaLeivi – You know how frustrating it is when a computer starts misbehaving. At least in the past all that was at risk was your data. Unfortunately when computers run cars the term “computer crash” takes on scary new meaning.
I’m starting to feel very safe in my 12-year-old yeshivishe Ford. When you pull the shifter to N you physically disconnect the engine from the wheels.
#4 I just checked Toyotas website the Prius does have Neutral.
Question remains.
Shmeel it shows what you know about hybrids… it has a regular gear stick like all cars. Red nisht oib di veist nisht.