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Stuck Gas Pedal
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09-18-2009, 01:07 AM
http://www.10news.com/news/20927415/detail.html
What would you do? Why was the pedal floored anyway? I would just shift to neutral. If that did not work then 2nd, then first. The key would be simple to turn off. Put down the cell phone?
09-18-2009, 01:23 AM
I've actually had that happen - the spring on the gas pedal return somehow jumped out of position and it just went to the floor on me. Quick shift to neutral, the engine gunned itself, and then I killed the engine and coasted off of the highway to figure out what in the hell had happened.
I suppose it's a matter whether you expect if anything could go wrong, and then knowing what to do... technical knowledge won't always save the world, but it sure helps when you're trying to troubleshoot things. Why they didn't shift, probably panic.
09-18-2009, 01:46 AM
If the car is accelerating hard the brakes will be pretty much worthless. I experienced this first hand a number of years ago.
Many years ago I installed an after-market cruise control in a 1981 Honda Accord (5 speed manual) that we owned. When installing the connection to the carb I had to carefully adjust the connection to the throttle due to tight clearances. The cruise worked fine for many months after I completed the install. We were driving the car home, after a mechanic worked on it, suddenly I found the accelerator pedal was stuck! The brakes did very little to slow the car down. I quickly depressed the clutch and shifted out of gear. The engine revved hard, I quickly pulled off the road, shut the motor off and realigned the cruise control connection to the carb. Very scary! From that point on I obsessively checked that connection after anyone else worked on that car. Dave Edit: spelling
...on the trailing edge of technology.
09-18-2009, 01:46 AM
Nobody in the car thought to say, "Turn off the freaking ignition!"?
But one guy had time to make a cell-phone call. . . Strange. Sad. /Mr Lynn
09-18-2009, 01:49 AM
mrlynn- yes, that would work. Many people don't realize, though, that if they shut off the engine they will lose their power steering and power brakes. You would have to be prepared to really use a lot of muscle to control and stop the car once the ignition is off.
Dave
...on the trailing edge of technology.
09-18-2009, 01:58 AM
davec wrote: Yes, I know. But better slowing down and hanging on than running off the road at 120 mph. Getting it into neutral and hitting the brakes would have worked, too, given enough time. Would that car have allowed him to shift into reverse? Would have made a nice mess of the tranny, but would have stopped the car. /Mr Lynn |
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