Hot, new video! Prius crashes into store. Guess what? Driver blames gas pedal.
Here's another unintended acceleration story that I don't believe. According to a TV report out of Tacoma, a Prius driver rammed his hybrid through a gas-station convenience store even though his foot was off the accelerator pedal and he tried hitting both the regular and emergency brakes.
Every time someone crashes into a building, they blame the gas pedal. With throttle-by-wire becoming more popular, it won't take long before every snake lawyer in the country files a class-action suit charging that this technology has a mind of its own and is dangerous.
Let me explain something: if you have your foot firmly on the brake, the car ain't going anywhere. I don't care if you have the other foot firmly on the gas pedal. How do you think the magazine guys get those cool burnout shots? We do brake stands, even with manual transmission cars. The car stays in one spot while boiling away the tread. It's easy, fun, safe and I've never hit a photographer or run into the side of a building.
Link to video after break.
This guy said he was on the freeway when he realized that the gas pedal wasn't working and he tried the brakes. He came off the freeway and went through an intersection before slamming into the side of the store. If that was truly the case, then turn the key off!
Ever since 60 Minutes ruined the reputation of the Audi 5000 back in the late '80s, every crackpot who can't drive a car blames the accelerator pedal. I'm quite sure that somewhere in time there have instances of stuck throttles. Before by-wire controls, accelerator linkages have always been mechanical functions. But if you "floor" the brakes, as all the guilty parties claim they do, then the vehicle will stop. Again, turn off the key. Or try hitting the E-brake and you should perform a nifty J-loop to stop the vehicle.
If authorities confiscate this vehicle, perform in-depth and accurate diagnostics and discover that the throttle stuck and all the brakes didn't function, then I'll apologize and name my next child after this guy. But with black boxes in cars today, we'll know the truth soon. Can't wait. Meanwhile, enjoy the video.
[Source: CBS42]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Ruth 11:27PM (8/02/2009)
You don't know what you are talking about, sorry. I own a Honda Accord, 2002, 6 cylinder. A few weeks ago I experienced an unintended acceleration event. As I was pulling onto the highway, my car artificially accelerated to 55MPH and NOTHING I did would slow the car down. I tried to brake (with BOTH of my feet applied to the brake pedal), I pulled the handbrake, I down-shifted to first gear and that sucker was still barreling down the road at 55MPH. The car did not slow down at al! I was fortunate to be able to get onto the shoulder (still going 55mph) to buy some time and jammed the transmission into park. The car finally came to a stop. I could have easily been killed or have killed or injured others. Honda told me it was the cruise control cable clips and throttle body that failed, even though I NEVER use cruise control. The throttle had opened up wide. Nothing, other than what I chose to do, would have stopped the car, short of turning off the ignition, but I would have lost my steering capabilities (which was all I had left). Another brilliant person suggested that putting it in neutral would have stopped the car, but after conducting an exhaustive search on the web, I discovered that someone else with the same problem had tried that and the engine burst into flames.Honda would do NOTHING for me and it cost $1100 to repair. When the service person started the engine prior to the repair, the rpms immediately went to 6500. It was a terrifying experience that I wish on no one. So, please, don't tell people that something like this can't happen. It can and does. The real problem is that most drivers don't live to talk about it.
Reply
pamela lorraine 4:15PM (3/08/2007)
yanks always try to point the blame for there stupiditdy at some one or something else thick as sh#@ losers.
Reply
cheezedog 10:48PM (3/08/2007)
Im not sure about this one... the car caught fire after it hit the side of the build... Impact alone would not cause a fire. And that is a tell tail mark of electrical failure.
Reply
Mike Magda 12:29AM (3/09/2007)
I thought about that, as well. But look closely at the first frame of the video. He's crashing through the part of the store where the lubricants and other automotive chemicals are shelved. I can't completely discount the possibility that something flammable got under the car and was ignited by a hot catalytic converter or other exhaust component.
Reply
Chris M 3:17AM (3/09/2007)
Stepping on the brake pedal in a Prius should automatically override the accelerator and start regenerative braking. If you have one foot on the brake and one on the accelerator, the engine won't race and the car won't accelerate
My suspicion is that he was speeding, going too fast when he took the exit, and didn't want to admit it - so he blames a "stuck accelerator" instead.
Reply
Lithous 11:24AM (3/09/2007)
"yanks always try to point the blame for there stupiditdy at some one or something else thick as sh#@ losers."
LMAO. You mean "their" stupidity, don't you?
Don't worry it happens to us all, right?
And the word "yank", it's such a goofy word that only foreigners would use (at least no one around me uses that term ever), I don't understand the appeal of the word to you guys. The majority of times I hear the word is in old movies. Which makes sense that you would be educated about Americans by the movies from your statements.
Could you give some cold hard numbers on your statement. You know, like 25% of Brits (hopefully that word seems as dumb as "yank") blame others for their mistakes and 65% of Americans blame others. The research involved in that statement must be staggering.
But I'll keep in mind your generalization of Americans next time I decide to not forgo my generalizations of foreigners, together we can... not change the world.
Reply
Jerome 6:14PM (3/14/2007)
My Ford F-150 has a mind of it's own and when the gas pedal went to the floor, on it's own, nothing would stop it short of turning the key off or running into something!! By using the brake, I was able to slow down to 50 mph but that was it!
This has happened 3 times and I may end up in court with Ford Motor Company....we'll see.
Reply