5 ms·

The floormats are pretty obvious and that has happened before. Given that, how hard is it then, if your car doesn't stop accelerating, to simply push the clutch

by yason 16y ago

The floormats are pretty obvious and that has happened before. Given that, how hard is it then, if your car doesn't stop accelerating, to simply push the clutch down or switch to neutral, depending on your type of transmission?

cperciva 16y ago
Lots of people have done exactly what you suggest -- but the news media don't report on near-miss vehicular incidents.
lutorm 16y ago
My VW will cut the gas if you are pushing on both gas and brake at the same time. That also seems like a reasonable prioritization.
- cma 16y ago
  That adds complexity; it could falsely trigger when someone was making a left turn in front of oncoming traffic causing them to stall and get creamed. Not saying it isn't still the best choice, but it does have potential downsides.
  - yason 16y ago
    Who will ever press the brake pedal with their left foot? That sounds like remixing all the routes of neural impulses for braking/accelerating. I sometimes do it consciously on a parking lot after a good car wash during winter to slightly warm and dry the brake pads to prevent them from getting frozen, and I have to carefully think my foot-pedalling logic twice--no, three times!--to only apply a slight pressure on the brakes while my right foot keeps pushing the accelerator. If I did that during driving in the traffic, I'd probably alternate between jumping to a 100% halt and rear-ending somebody with screaming tyres.
    - cma 16y ago
      I was saying adding the mechanism adds complexity and the mechanism could fail; I was not saying we should worry about the person pressing both pedals at the same time during a turn.
- brc 16y ago
  That is, in my opinion, one of the worst features ever added to VAG cars. There are plenty of reasons why you would want to feather the throttle and the brake at the same time.
  - lutorm 16y ago
    I'm not sure I understand. You mean it should release both throttle and brake at the same time? Or by "feather" do you mean "push"? If so, what are those situations? The only one I can think of is deliberate rubber burning... Edit: I guess another is for not spooling down the turbo when braking for a corner. If you're worried about that, you are probably far from a normal street driving situation.
Bud 16y ago
1. It can be fairly hard in a panic situation where something bizarre, previously never experienced, and very loud is occurring which also happens to cause you to travel 100 mph. 2. Many drivers really don't have a handle on, and have never actually used, neutral. Many have no clue that you can safely pop into neutral at any speed, too. You're failing to take these facts into account.
brc 16y ago
Or stand hard on the brakes. Most cars maximum braking power easily exceeds their maximum engine power by a case of 3x. If you don't believe me, see how fast you can deccelerate your car from 60-0 mph. I bet it is a lot faster than you get get from 0-60. This is particularly so when the car is in top gear and thus the gearing has reduced the torque available to the wheels. All cars are capable of being stopped by their own brakes even at wide open throttle. You just have to stand on them hard and ignore the straining engine noise. The Toyota story was a complete beat up, and incidentally not the first where a totally innocent car has been improperly accused of design problems relating to both incorrect usage and media hype, coupled with greedy lawyers.
- jerf 16y ago
  "Most cars maximum braking power easily exceeds their maximum engine power by a case of 3x." Car and Driver actually put it to the test: http://www.caranddriver.com/features/09q4/how_to_deal_with_unintended_acceleration-tech_dept http://www.caranddriver.com/features/09q4/how_to_deal_with_u...
  - brc 16y ago
    That link proves my point well. Even a 500hp Mustang can be stopped by it's own brakes. Perhaps emergency stop under power needs to be taught as part of driving tests.

by yason 16y ago

cperciva 16y ago

Lots of people have done exactly what you suggest -- but the news media don't report on near-miss vehicular incidents.

lutorm 16y ago

My VW will cut the gas if you are pushing on both gas and brake at the same time. That also seems like a reasonable prioritization.

cma 16y ago
That adds complexity; it could falsely trigger when someone was making a left turn in front of oncoming traffic causing them to stall and get creamed. Not saying it isn't still the best choice, but it does have potential downsides.
- yason 16y ago
  Who will ever press the brake pedal with their left foot? That sounds like remixing all the routes of neural impulses for braking/accelerating. I sometimes do it consciously on a parking lot after a good car wash during winter to slightly warm and dry the brake pads to prevent them from getting frozen, and I have to carefully think my foot-pedalling logic twice--no, three times!--to only apply a slight pressure on the brakes while my right foot keeps pushing the accelerator. If I did that during driving in the traffic, I'd probably alternate between jumping to a 100% halt and rear-ending somebody with screaming tyres.
  - cma 16y ago
    I was saying adding the mechanism adds complexity and the mechanism could fail; I was not saying we should worry about the person pressing both pedals at the same time during a turn.
brc 16y ago
That is, in my opinion, one of the worst features ever added to VAG cars. There are plenty of reasons why you would want to feather the throttle and the brake at the same time.
- lutorm 16y ago
  I'm not sure I understand. You mean it should release both throttle and brake at the same time? Or by "feather" do you mean "push"? If so, what are those situations? The only one I can think of is deliberate rubber burning... Edit: I guess another is for not spooling down the turbo when braking for a corner. If you're worried about that, you are probably far from a normal street driving situation.

Bud 16y ago

1. It can be fairly hard in a panic situation where something bizarre, previously never experienced, and very loud is occurring which also happens to cause you to travel 100 mph. 2. Many drivers really don't have a handle on, and have never actually used, neutral. Many have no clue that you can safely pop into neutral at any speed, too. You're failing to take these facts into account.

brc 16y ago

Or stand hard on the brakes. Most cars maximum braking power easily exceeds their maximum engine power by a case of 3x. If you don't believe me, see how fast you can deccelerate your car from 60-0 mph. I bet it is a lot faster than you get get from 0-60. This is particularly so when the car is in top gear and thus the gearing has reduced the torque available to the wheels. All cars are capable of being stopped by their own brakes even at wide open throttle. You just have to stand on them hard and ignore the straining engine noise. The Toyota story was a complete beat up, and incidentally not the first where a totally innocent car has been improperly accused of design problems relating to both incorrect usage and media hype, coupled with greedy lawyers.

jerf 16y ago
"Most cars maximum braking power easily exceeds their maximum engine power by a case of 3x." Car and Driver actually put it to the test: http://www.caranddriver.com/features/09q4/how_to_deal_with_unintended_acceleration-tech_dept http://www.caranddriver.com/features/09q4/how_to_deal_with_u...
- brc 16y ago
  That link proves my point well. Even a 500hp Mustang can be stopped by it's own brakes. Perhaps emergency stop under power needs to be taught as part of driving tests.