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No, unless you're assuming that only old people are capable of operator error. This suggests that 'sudden acceleration' is biased towards old people, and we kn

No, unless you're assuming that only old people are capable of operator error. This suggests that 'sudden acceleration' is biased towards old people, and we know that operator error of the wrong-pedal type is as well. It doesn't suggest that only cases involving old people could be operator error.

tptacek 17y ago
The story on NPR where the highway patrol officer is doing 90MPH for several minutes next to the guy who's trying to pry up the gas pedal with one hand while controlling the car with the other doesn't sound too much like someone getting the wrong pedal. Maybe a bunch of these cases are just the ambient stupidity that we've always had. That doesn't mean there's nothing to the story.
- mos1 17y ago
  That story was complete and total horseshit. I've listened to the full 911 tape recording, and none of it adds up... he doesn't sound scared, he doesn't try to put it into neutral, he doesn't try to turn it off (he claims he was afraid the car might flip), but he does claim he tried to pry up the gas pedal (which is an essentially impossible physical move, to do with your hand while driving). Not to mention that he has a ridiculously shady past (bankruptcy, $700k of debt, runs an adult website, entire kitchen of his house was stolen during foreclosure, former business partner accuses him of theft) Honestly... if you're going to cite him as an example of anything, he seems like proof that a lot of these incidents are pretty obviously frauds.
  - tptacek 17y ago
    I'll concede that my brain went "NPR, corroborated by highway patrol", and got on with my life. If I didn't prefer German cars, I'd buy a Toyota.
    - jonah 17y ago
      My first car was American, the second Japanese, now I have a German car. Is Italian next? ;)
    - deleted 17y ago
      [deleted]
electromagnetic 17y ago
Young drivers are expected to make mistakes, older drivers aren't expected to make mistakes. This unfairly biases error towards manufacturer. I frequently seeing older drivers failing to signal and many other basic errors expected from an inexperienced driver, so why wouldn't the odd driver catch the gas instead of the break, maybe cause their seat got rearranged or whatever. A young driver having this problem will be suspected of operator error, the first assumption for an older driver should be operator error. A dual-standard creates errors.

tptacek 17y ago

The story on NPR where the highway patrol officer is doing 90MPH for several minutes next to the guy who's trying to pry up the gas pedal with one hand while controlling the car with the other doesn't sound too much like someone getting the wrong pedal. Maybe a bunch of these cases are just the ambient stupidity that we've always had. That doesn't mean there's nothing to the story.

mos1 17y ago
That story was complete and total horseshit. I've listened to the full 911 tape recording, and none of it adds up... he doesn't sound scared, he doesn't try to put it into neutral, he doesn't try to turn it off (he claims he was afraid the car might flip), but he does claim he tried to pry up the gas pedal (which is an essentially impossible physical move, to do with your hand while driving). Not to mention that he has a ridiculously shady past (bankruptcy, $700k of debt, runs an adult website, entire kitchen of his house was stolen during foreclosure, former business partner accuses him of theft) Honestly... if you're going to cite him as an example of anything, he seems like proof that a lot of these incidents are pretty obviously frauds.
- tptacek 17y ago
  I'll concede that my brain went "NPR, corroborated by highway patrol", and got on with my life. If I didn't prefer German cars, I'd buy a Toyota.
  - jonah 17y ago
    My first car was American, the second Japanese, now I have a German car. Is Italian next? ;)
  - deleted 17y ago
    [deleted]

electromagnetic 17y ago

Young drivers are expected to make mistakes, older drivers aren't expected to make mistakes. This unfairly biases error towards manufacturer. I frequently seeing older drivers failing to signal and many other basic errors expected from an inexperienced driver, so why wouldn't the odd driver catch the gas instead of the break, maybe cause their seat got rearranged or whatever. A young driver having this problem will be suspected of operator error, the first assumption for an older driver should be operator error. A dual-standard creates errors.