Intellegence of Prius drivers on display.
Posted on 03/10/2010 6:36:28 AM PST by 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.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Speak for yourself.....
ISN’T IT ILLEGAL TO USE A CELL PHONE WHILE DRIVING IN CALIFORNIA?...................
Oh, retch.
This driver had to be an idiot liberal to begin with.
Leni
Only the ones with the special secret software programming in the computer controls, apparently..............
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.
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.
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.
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.
‘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.
Intellegence of Prius drivers on display.
If you can't think beyond using the brakes and accelerator, you shouldn't be driving a car on public roads.
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.
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.
This story doesn’t pass the smell test to me.
Does this?..........
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.
He was trying to talk on the cell phone and “control the car”. He didn’t have time to shift or slow down.
This story doesn’t pass the smell test to me.
Does this?..........
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.
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