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

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

[FrankR]

"if you’re stuck at 80 / 90 mph. "

Will a Prius even DO 80/90 mph?

[sniper63]

"all people lie. All people are devious"

Speak for yourself.....

[Red Badger]

ISN’T IT ILLEGAL TO USE A CELL PHONE WHILE DRIVING IN CALIFORNIA?...................

[MinuteGal]

Prius advertisement: "Toyoto Prius Hybrid - Harmony between Man, Nature and Machine".

Oh, retch.

This driver had to be an idiot liberal to begin with.

Leni

[Red Badger]

Will a Prius even DO 80/90 mph?

Only the ones with the special secret software programming in the computer controls, apparently..............

[politicalmerc]

All people don’t lie, LIBERALS lie. I think this story stinks! He’s either stupid, a liar, or both. Oh wait, I did say he was a liberal so I’m repeating myself.

[justlurking]

That would be my first inclination. Popping into neutral would cause the engine to over RPM, and potentially destroy the engine - turning the ignition off simply shuts the engine down ... something that is inherently obvious to me.

Modern engines have governors that limit the RPM. The engine will make a big racket, but it won't go over the red-line.

However, given a choice between a crash at 90 mph and destroying the engine... I'll always take the latter.

Earlier, I was asking why he waited until the car slowed to 55 to turn off the ignition. The dispatcher makes it very clear: the driver was paniced.

[SlowBoat407]

This is what happens when an entire car (or country) is run with a central processor. It’s hard to put on the brakes or shift into neutral when the thing gets out of control.

[perfect_rovian_storm]

You have to put it in neutral and slow down or better yet stop before you shut off the engine.

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.

Your life is in danger at this point. Blowing the engine should be the least of your worries. If you still have your wits about you and it starts to rev too high, put it in the highest gear you’ve got. 5th or 6th in a manual or 3rd in an automatic.

[-YYZ-]

‘I thought it was useful to post this, after all the discussion on previous threads about “why didn’t he ....?”’

And apparently the answer is that he is a moron, who probably shouldn’t be allowed to drive anything larger or more powerful than a shopping cart, or maybe a scooter.

[Red Badger]

Intellegence of Prius drivers on display.

[justlurking]

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.

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

[jiggyboy]

Will a Prius even DO 80/90 mph?

Hah, the scariest place on an interstate in Silicon Valley is in front of a Prius when you're going "only" 10 MPH over the speed limit.

[MsLady]

The man doesn’t know much about cars. On the freeway I was almost pushed off the road by some guy who wasn’t paying any attention to what he was doing. I slammed on my breaks to keep from getting hit, only to have the engine die on me. I shifted into neutral while still moving, started the car and kept going.

[Red Badger]

This story doesn’t pass the smell test to me.

Does this?..........

[cripplecreek]

If I were king I would ban automatic transmissions and many of the “safety” features on cars. A self preservation instinct goes a long way.

[mbynack]

He was trying to talk on the cell phone and “control the car”. He didn’t have time to shift or slow down.

[Red Badger]

This story doesn’t pass the smell test to me.

Does this?..........

[McGruff]

Car flipping. Happens all the time in racing.

[IYAS9YAS]

Popping into neutral would cause the engine to over RPM, and potentially destroy the engine - turning the ignition off simply shuts the engine down ... something that is inherently obvious to me.

All of these new computer controlled cars have rev limiters to prevent the over revving of the engine. He'd have been better off to keep power (for brakes, steering, etc.) and just slam it into neutral.