Runaway Prius driver: Brakes were 'almost burned' [But he wouldn't shift into neutral!]

Yahoo News ^ | 2010-03-10 | ELLIOT SPAGAT

[justlurking]

Before he called 911, James Sikes says he reached down with his hand to loosen the "stuck" accelerator on his 2008 Toyota Prius, his other hand on the steering wheel. The pedal didn't move.

"My car can't slow down," he began when a California Highway Patrol dispatcher answered his call.

[...]

During the two 911 calls, Sikes ignored many of the dispatcher's questions, saying later that he had to put his phone on the seat to keep his hands on the wheel.

Leighann Parks, a 24-year-old dispatcher, repeatedly told him to throw the car into neutral but got no answers.

"He was very emotional, you could tell on the line he was panicked," Parks told reporters outside the CHP's El Cajon office. "I could only imagine being in his shoes and being that stressed."

Neibert told Sikes after the CHP caught up with him to shift to neutral but the driver shook his head no. Sikes told reporters he didn't go into neutral because he worried the car would flip.

[Cringing Negativism Network]

Buy American.

[QQQQ]

There is NO key ignition in Prius.

[aft_lizard]

IMO In front of is where you want to be. God forbid a hippy decides to cruise doing 75 in the fast lane. Double goes for one of those smart cars. I can’t believe people drive them as fast as they do.

[perfect_rovian_storm]

Just breath deeply and get some much needed oxygen into the old brain. Eventually, you’ll get it.

That’s if you want to keep driving and control your speed a bit more. That’s how you can keep driving a car with a stuck throttle without blowing the engine.

I did 3 or 4 miles like that once. Through that method and strategic shutting off of the engine and coasting in neutral, I was able to make it in to get the car fixed.

It ain’t brain surgery. Maybe if you read the rest of my posts or the earlier posts that I posted in the thread, you wouldn’t be left in the dark. Try and keep up with the conversation, will ya? :p

[IYAS9YAS]

We are all creatures of habit, and most of us have no habit of shifting into neutral, just using the brakes and accelerator. Hindsight is 20-20.

Some people simply don't know how to drive. They should not be on the road. I've had throttles stick on a few things, mechanical links or return springs don't always work like they're supposed to, either. I'm still here, and the vehicles I was in didn't get wrecked.

[QQQQ]

Yes.

[HD1200]

Again, no manufacturer is going to make it near to impossible to apply the brakes without hydraulic pressure from the engine. Is it harder to apply brakes? Yes. Is it DAMN HARDER? No.

[mouske]

“I would like to see some information about any connections of the drivers with the union or political friends of GM.”

I’m with you. I remember seeing a TV report about Toyota closing the huge NUMMI plant in California. It showed the UAW workers lobbying on the streets to try to force Toyota to keep the plant open.

Anyone know the status of that closure?

[brownsfan]

“...why throw ‘er into neutral when there’s a law suit/settlement in the offing?....by calling 911 he documented his emotional distress.”

Bingo!

I heard the first part of the call, the 911 operator told him to shift to neutral, and he ignored it.

[devere]

“If you can’t think beyond using the brakes and accelerator, you shouldn’t be driving a car on public roads.”

You agree with my wife! LOL

Seriously, perhaps there should be mandatory driver instruction on what to do when the accelerator on your Toyota goes crazy, but I don’t remember that part of the driver training course.

We can’t all be Chesley Sullenbergers! That’s why he’s a national hero.

[Sacajaweau]

He's definitely opting for something...He already said he'll never drive THAT car again.

The call...It sounds very phoney...And the cop saying you can hear the stress in his voice???

[Spudx7]

The year would have been 1990,1991 or 1992...in Wells, MN. I remember because we competed against them and one of their key athletes was in that crash.

[GBA]

Isn't it odd how this happens right now, just as Toyota is dealing with their sticky accelerator problems?

I hope the police have impounded the Prius and are looking it over. The story, the driver's actions and the timing of the story are way too suspicious.

[fredhead]

“It’s my understanding the Prius has a button to turn it on or off.”

Which brings me back again the the damn computer. The driver presses the OFF button the tell the computer (read “driver-vehicle interface) to shut the car down. The computer somehow figures that turning off is not the prudent thing to do given the current states of its numerous inputs such as road speed, RPM, etc.

I want foot pedals directly to my brake hydraulic system, cables to the clutch and accelerator, a manual switch straight the the electrical and ignition systems, and a mechanical shifter linkage. The 1969 beetle has no power steering, no power brakes, and doesn’t need them. I AM IN CONTROL!!!

Now if I could just disable the steering wheel lock.......

[mentor2k]

I agree with everything you commented on to my post. I just trying to figure out why this guy didn't do one or the other. However, you said:

"Modern engines have a governor that limits the RPM. But, that's a bogus concern when the alternative is a collision at 50+ mph."

And most modern cars are NOT supposed to have an accelerator that sticks. So how do we know the RPM governor you've sited would work? This is the problem Toyota now faces.

[skeeter]

All of the accessories are electrically powered anyway (including the power steering, air conditioning, etc.) because the engine automatically shuts down when stopped at intersections.

Isn't there an emergency 'off' button for the electric motor? Assuming that was the mode of propoulsion during the incident?

[RoseofTexas]

I’ve gotta say something even if it’s not popular, BUT this story is too damn fishy. On the cell while trying to control the car?? What’s wrong with this pic? HOW did he dial 911 while he had both hands on the steering wheel or one hand on the wheel and the other one trying to unstuck the pedal and sobbing at the same time? Just something doesn’t jive here!! And that’s my two cents worth! :)

[ROLF of the HILL COUNTRY]

“If you shut off the ignition, the steering wheel will lock when you turn it and it will be a LOT harder to stop without power to the brakes.”

Wrong, and BullSh!t.

If you turn the key only to the mid point “ACC” position, the motor will shut off without locking the steering column. While steering and braking require more effort without power assist, it's NOT a “LOT harder”!

I can't believe the ignorance on this thread. Don't they teach about what to do in emergency situations in Driver's Ed anymore??? We had to do exactly this behind the wheel so it wouldn't surprise us!

[Hacklehead]

Even on cars with the most powerful engines the brakes are able to easily stop the car when full engine power is applied. Perhaps the driver was purposely pressing both pedals to grind the brakes but keep the car moving. I hope these things have a black box that can tell if this is what happened.

[jiggyboy]

Power steering and power brakes work just fine when the engine is turned off. They are just harder to turn or apply.

Then they're no longer "power" steering or "power" brakes. Even on a small car, you get about 20 seconds or three to four episodes of braking, then it's your leg vs the machine.