How would you stop a car.

1. 75

   Arthur Fontesposted 14 years ago

   Considering the problems Toyota has ran into.
   
   If you were in a car that was accelerating on its own would you know what to do to stop it.
   
   1.  Turn off the key.
   
   2. Shift the car into neutral.
   
   3.  Apply the brake.
   
   Any of these steps should at least stop the acceleration of your car.
   
   This may seem like common sense but I feel it is a public service so you will not need law enforcement to stop the vehicle for you. 
   
   Does this not seem like common sense?

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      WildIrisposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Turning off the car is a bad idea.
      
      To stop the car put it in neutral. Relax.  The engine will race but forward motion should decrease unless of course you're going down hill, then it would be a good idea to apply the breaks.

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      Justine76posted 14 years agoin reply to this

      wasnt the problem the brake didnt work?
      
      I just had this conversation with hubby. He has had it happen more then once, in an old car. yes, turning the car off will work. Its really bad for your car, but much better then havimg a flaming wreck.

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2. 0

   Crazdwriterposted 14 years ago

   arent' you also supposed to apply the emergency break?

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3. 68

   Paradise7posted 14 years ago

   People often don't think of turning off the key while the car is in motion.  They panic, grip the wheel like grim death, and sink the brakes to the floor with both their feet.

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      Crazdwriterposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      I like that 'grip the wheel like grim death' nice description Paradise

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      1. 68

         Paradise7posted 14 years agoin reply to this

         Thanks, Crazd.  Nice to see you.  Howya?

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            Crazdwriterposted 14 years agoin reply to this

            doing pretty good just got done with the docs...and gonna go finish up some pyrography that I had done yesterday how r ya?

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4. 0

   ralwusposted 14 years ago

   Panic is the key word here. Stopping the engine will do it if one has the sense to still maintain control with no power steering or power brakes. It has never happened to me so I don't even know if one can shift into neutral when the car is under madness like that. Braking won't do if it is running wild, that is why the guy could smell the burn from them.

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5. 75

   Mikel G Robertsposted 14 years ago

   Most cars have an auto lock mechanism in the steering colomn. When the car is off, the steering wheel locks, and you won't be able to steer....
   
   
   DO NOT TURN THE CAR OFF!!!
   
   put it in neutral and apply both/any/all brakes you can.

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   1. 75

      Arthur Fontesposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      The car must be in park for the steering wheel to lock the ignition will only go back to acc if the car is in gear.

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6. 68

   Paradise7posted 14 years ago

   If you turn the car off, you might not be able to steer it but at least the car isn't being given gas anymore...the fuel pump isn't pumping.  So even if the accelerator is stuck, there's no gas, no fuel, and the brakes should stop the momentum.
   
   So, okay, you can't steer but at least you aren't accelerating anymore.

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7. 68

   Paradise7posted 14 years ago

   "acc" means accessories, like your radio, headlights, etc.  The rest of the car, the engine parts, aren't getting any juice.

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8. 75

   Arthur Fontesposted 14 years ago

   If you have the ability to dial 911 on a cell phone then you should be able to have enough self control to shift the car into neutral.  Unless you desperately are in need of brakes then applying the e-brake or the standard brakes will slow down the car if not completely stop it. 
   
   If all else fails shutting off the ignition sure beats running into a brick wall!

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      Paradise7posted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Sure does.   Practically ANYTHING I can think of beats running the car full-speed into a brick wall!

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      Crazdwriterposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Yea I don't think I would like to introduce myself to a brick wall in my car thanks.

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   3. 0

      Norah Caseyposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      My first car was a piece of junk, and my brakes suddenly stopped working while I was driving on the freeway. Luckily it was past midnight and there were hardly any cars on the road. I shifted it into neutral and coasted until it slowed down to about 30 mph, then pulled into a gas station. Other than annoying the people having to drive behind me in the far right lane, there was no damage done. I certainly didn't think of looking for my cell phone

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         Crazdwriterposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         ooo Norah! that is scary! glad yer okay though

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            Norah Caseyposted 14 years agoin reply to this

            Yep, I'm glad I don't have that car anymore. I was certainly tempting fate!

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9. 0

   ralwusposted 14 years ago

   Arthur is correct. You can still steer and you will still have braking, just push on the pedal harder and gradually pull over when you are going slow enough. Stopping the engine is paramount.

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10. 75

    Richieb799posted 14 years ago

    Haha, Funny thread, oh yeah if you can't steer and your about to crash, they say to take a collision head on anyway don't they? so if your driving straight it might help

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11. 75

    Arthur Fontesposted 14 years ago

    Here is an article from Ms. NBC on how to stop an accelerating vehicle.
    
    http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35783011/ns/business-autos/

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    1. 79

       earnestshubposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       I read the advice on the website.
       it doesn't make sense! Why would you press on the accelerator and brake at the same time??
       As for sitting too far away from the brake pedal, the pedal will not go to the floor until the brakes have failed, so what is that about?
       Who writes this crud?

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12. 60

    Ron Montgomeryposted 14 years ago

    It's been my experience that cars stop accelerating (or doing anything else) when the warranty runs out.  If you can just convince yourself that the car's warranty has expired, it should slow down, shimmy violently and leave you stranded in the middle of nowhere.
    
    Hope this helps.

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13. 61

    west40posted 14 years ago

    Both of my kids have Toyota's and every time I speak to them I make them tell me what to do if their cars decide to accelerate on their own!!  I worry like crazy about it even though neither of their cars are on the recall list but Toyota seems to be a little shaddy when it comes to being upfront about what's going on with their cars.

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14. 58

    zzronposted 14 years ago

    All of the above.

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15. 84

    Marisa Wrightposted 14 years ago

    I had this experience when my cruise control cable got stuck.  Suddenly I was flying along the freeway at 100 mph and getting faster. 
    
    Braking did slow the car somewhat, but I could feel the engine fighting me every step of the way.  Luckily it was a quiet day and I had a clear road so I had time to think - this was long before the recent Toyota problems so it had never occurred to me this could happen!
    
    I put the car in neutral, but the engine raced to such a terrifying volume that I put it in gear again and used the brake until I was closer to the side and ready to stop - then I threw it into neutral, stamped on the brake and switched off the engine in quick succession.
    
    I think the point with the Toyota, though, is that some drivers put the car in neutral and even tried to switch off the engine, all to no avail.  Toyota is still denying that's possible - but I must say, every time I hear the new Camry ad which boasts all the systems in the car are integrated into one computer-controlled system, I think  - don't they realise computers sometimes go wrong?

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       ab420posted 14 years agoin reply to this

       I had something similar happen to me years ago when I was driving my bosses fan full of musical instruments on the highway.  The whole cruise control "stick" was snapped off and just dangling there, and it malfunctioned and started accelerating!  I tried to turn it off... but it was in the off position already.  I tried to shift into Neutral to get it to stop accelerating... the shifter was locked and wouldn't let me.  I mashed the brake, applied the emergency brake slowly and pulled it off the highway.   I finally got it to stop (even though it was still trying to accelerate) and ripped the key out of the ignition and it was over.  That was a VERY scary day!

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16. 68

    MikeNVposted 14 years ago

    Common sense doesn't always play itself out in an emergency. In one case the person who died in a Toyota was a law enforcement officer. You would think they would know that.
    
    But the average person doesn't go to driving school. In fact it's pretty easy to get a license.
    
    The reality is manufacturers really need to be held accountable for making safe products. There is no valid reason for a car to accelerate on it's own and not be considered a safety risk.  In rush hour traffic it doesn't take much of a speed change to cause serious harm.
    
    Your points however are very well taken and people should know them.

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17. 81

    Rafiniposted 14 years ago

    I've actually had to deal with this situation twice in my life.  Once in a pickup where the motor was racing and refused to idle down.  Guess what I did?  Yup, I panicked!  When I finally got it to stop and put (shoved is more like it) it in park, I turned off the key.  When I restarted it, it ran fine.
    
    The next time I had this type of problem, I was in a different pickup without brakes (don't ask!  as to why I continued driving it down county highways for 15 miles and through 4 stop signs on my way home)  When I knew a stop sign was coming up I moved over to the gravel shoulder and after I'd slowed down enough I shifted into neutral until I was close enough to get through the stop sign without having an accident.  At one intersection I had to run alongside a semi (until it was going fast enough to get ahead of me) and another I had to fake turning right before turning left.  not fun!  But, it showed me it can be done.

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18. 60

    SpanStarposted 14 years ago

    I am reluctant about giving advise in this area because years ago I had a car that accelerated on me and the problem was things didn't work. switching off the key didn't stop it and when I applied the brakes it still continued to accelerate.  Now with even more advance compute chips in cars I'm not sure what they might do.

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19. 49

    rebuilt enginesposted 14 years ago

    I had this happen once years ago. I was in highschool and my accelerator cable broke while going up an extremely steep hill. The hill was so steep, I didn't realize the cable broke until I got to the top and my car started flying high speed towards a mansion.
    
    I panicked from fear of driving right through the house. I had my e-brake and my pedal brake on and I wasn't stopping...it slowed me down but I was still heading towards the house. Everything was happening lightning speed.
    
    Next I turned my key off and my final attempt was throwing it into park (at this point I was nearing my stop), which I lucky my tranny didn't fly outta my hood. I cobbled it together with a paper clip and got it back out of the peoples front lawn. I ripped up their lawn, but in the end, I didn't drive through their home, and the only repair I had was replacing my cable.

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