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.
If you’d paid attention in Driver’s Ed you might remember those “What if” situations. I remembered when it happened to me while driving IN THE ALPS!
(BTW shifting into to Neutral is not the correct answer, as others have already pointed out, turning the ignition off is.)
I bet you don’t think about escape routes while driving either.
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.
The ride lasted PLENTY long enough for hindsight to set in.
I had a stuck accelerator when I was in my teens. I turned off the engine. Now, back then it didn’t lock your steering wheel, but it was a natural thing to do and I had only been driving a couple of years.
Is it too late to sue American Motors?
In the first panicky seconds, sure. But this ride lasted 23 MINUTES and the driver was repeatedly told to shift into neutral.
Creatures of habit without intelligence should not be allowed on the highway. An armidilla is also a creature of habit.