Worst advice EVER

[TD]

I'll look for a link to the audio later, but NPR just played their interview with the President of Toyota NA on the subject of their recall. Well, the final question asked what owners should do if their gas pedal sticks. His answer?

Depress the brake pedal with both feet as hard as you can and put the car into neutral.

I'm not making this up.

[rumatt]

I can think of worse advice.

[SARAFIL]

I'll look for a link to the audio later, but NPR just played their interview with the President of Toyota NA on the subject of their recall. Well, the final question asked what owners should do if their gas pedal sticks. His answer?

Depress the brake pedal with both feet as hard as you can and put the car into neutral.

I'm not making this up.


What would you advise? :dunno:

I have seen a lot of experts talking about it and they are all on the same page about this one. At open throttle, the brakes can stop the car but you have to step on it pretty hard to bring your 50mph+ accelerating car to a stop. Even harder if your car takes off at 70mph or 80mph and climbing.

I think I get the point that you are trying to make that it is dangerous to just stomp on the brakes on the highway. Yes, probably a valid point that you take the risk of getting rear ended if you do this. But, if you don't apply enough force to the brakes you probably won't be able to slow down the run-away car and the average driver will end up much worse off with the resulting collision.

[TD]

You're missing the part about "put it in neutral".

Car in neutral + two feet on the brake = car rapidly decelerating and probably losing control. Throw in a typical Camry driver and you have disaster. Best case, one stops straight and gets rear-ended.

You might need two feet on the brakes if the car won't go into neutral. But if neutral is accomplished, how about we all slow down gradually as we find a safe place to stop.

[RMR]

You're missing the part about "put it in neutral".

Car in neutral + two feet on the brake = car rapidly decelerating and probably losing control. Throw in a typical Camry driver and you have disaster. Best case, one stops straight and gets rear-ended.

You might need two feet on the brakes if the car won't go into neutral. But if neutral is accomplished, how about we all slow down gradually as we find a safe place to stop.

I agree. If this unintended acceleration happens, they should be saying:

Step 1 - Put car in neutral

Step 2 - Brake in a normal fashion as conditions allow to come to a complete stop.

2 feet on the brake almost says (IMO) "Slam on the brakes and Panic"

[Nick M3]

*shrug* People aren't bright enough to get the car into neutral. They also, apparently, aren't bright enough to get on the brakes hard enough to keep them from fading.

Both feet on the big automatic brake pedal is better than anything else the drivers are likely to do.

[SARAFIL]

Both feet on the big automatic brake pedal is better than anything else the drivers are likely to do.

Yep... remember that they are talking about 2M plus vehicles sold to people that overwhelmingly don't know how to respond in this situation. They need to be as plain and simple as possible. Jump on the brake with all your power is probably the only way they can ensure that people will be able to stop so they won't have to deal with more run-away car accidents.

[Mr. The Edge]

What is a typical Camry driver? Is that similar to a typical Merkur driver?

[SARAFIL]

What is a typical Camry driver? Is that similar to a typical Merkur driver?


dull, boring, has no interest in driving, likes driving an automotive appliance. :dunno:

:lol:

[Sharp11]

I think it's appropriate advice, keep in mind, a stuck gas pedal means rapid acceleration, most drivers in that situation would panic, so stomping down on the brakes before doing anything else is good advice - it'll help slow the car before shifting to neutral.

Being rear-ended is better than driving into an oncoming car while accelerating.

Ed

[JST]

I'd say the typical Camry driver and the typical Merkur driver (if there even is such a thing) are about as dissimilar as you can possibly be.

[rumatt]

What is a typical Camry driver? Is that similar to a typical Merkur driver?

More importantly, which is more similar to the typical zipcar driver?

[SARAFIL]

Saw this quote in the newsfeed about a recent test that GM did on the Vibe (a Toyota Matrix twin)

They were testing the effectiveness of the brakes to stop the car from 60mph while it was accelerating.

While the tests may have successfully exonerated the Vibe's braking capability in a controlled unintended acceleration scenario, they did shed some light on the increased distances required to bring run-away vehicles to a stop. According to a recent Edmunds road test (http://www.edmunds.com/pontiac/vibe/2009/testdrive.html) of the 2009 Pontiac Vibe GT, their test vehicle panic-stopped from 60 mph in just 127 feet. Converted, GM's quoted stopping distance is 507 feet - meaning the full-throttle Vibe took four times the distance to come to a safe stop when fighting both inertia and engine power.The fourfold increased in braking distance is probably the reason that they are telling people to press the brake pedal with full force.

[Optimus Prime]

I would disagree that this is the worst advice I've ever heard. That honor would go to, "don't worry, I'm on the pill..." :eeps:

[rumatt]

That honor would go to, "don't worry, I'm on the pill..." :eeps:

:bustingup:

[TD]

Video related to the topic- http://video.consumerreports.org/services/player/bcpid1886192484?bctid=48234862001

[SARAFIL]

Video related to the topic- http://video.consumerreports.org/services/player/bcpid1886192484?bctid=48234862001

I like the bit at the end... although we probably know what VW includes that feature now. (**ahem** Audi unintended acceleration disaster)