Stopping a car with a jammed accelerator

[AnalogueAndy]

Any Toyota drivers on ADUK

Any excuse to get on the tele, Peter Rodger shows a BBC reporter how to switch the engine off on the move

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8500693.stm?ls

[AnalogueAndy]

I'd not appreciated that this came in the midst of this story from the US about the tragic death of a family in a Lexus SUV

http://articles.latimes.com/2009/oct/25/nation/na-toyota-crash25?pg=2

Which raises some all together different questions, an auto with keyless ignition, the poor guy driving couldn't "switch off the ignition" or "put it into neutral"

the vehicle's brake surfaces showed signs that they had been worn down through heavy braking against the full force of the 272-horsepower Lexus engine.

"Rotors were discolored and heated, had very rough surfaces, had substantial deposits of brake pad material, and showed signs of bright orange oxidation on the cooling fins consistent with endured braking," the report said.

NHTSA investigators also noted that instructions for operating the car's keyless ignition, which requires that the power button be pressed for three full seconds to turn off the engine while the car is moving, were "not indicated on the dashboard."

[Angus]

NHTSA investigators also noted that instructions for operating the car's keyless ignition, which requires that the power button be pressed for three full seconds to turn off the engine while the car is moving, were "not indicated on the dashboard."

Soon you won't be able to see out the windscreen for all the warnings.

Don't all autos have a neutral position?

[Porker]

I would have thought so, but if the gearbox is electronically controlled via switches or buttons rather than a physical lever, it may not be possible to command the gearbox to select neutral when the car is moving (except perhaps by an extended push on the button, but that may well not be obvious to someone who's not read the manual and is in fear for their life).

P.

[Laconic]

I'd not appreciated that this came in the midst of this story from the US about the tragic death of a family in a Lexus SUV

http://articles.latimes.com/2009/oct/25/nation/na-toyota-crash25?pg=2

Which raises some all together different questions, an auto with keyless ignition, the poor guy driving couldn't "switch off the ignition" or "put it into neutral"

the vehicle's brake surfaces showed signs that they had been worn down through heavy braking against the full force of the 272-horsepower Lexus engine.

"Rotors were discolored and heated, had very rough surfaces, had substantial deposits of brake pad material, and showed signs of bright orange oxidation on the cooling fins consistent with endured braking," the report said.

NHTSA investigators also noted that instructions for operating the car's keyless ignition, which requires that the power button be pressed for three full seconds to turn off the engine while the car is moving, were "not indicated on the dashboard."

Reading that I get goose-pimples. That illustrates the desperation of that struggle so vividly.

You make a good point about one of the real problems with increasingly electronic controls on cars -- they don't fail well and don't allow for an intuitive manual override.