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So how does this prevent the hydraulic brakes from functioning?

Or the key from shutting the engine off?

Or the gearshift lever being moved to neutral?

Driver error. Skid marks from parking brake? duh. I can leave you some a mile or two long if you like. Its for PARKING not stopping the car.



Agree that a proficient driver should be able to recover. That doesn't mean Toyota isn't without fault if the engine runs away without driver input, which is completely possible with stack overflow software issues. There is no way every one of those cars ran away with somebody's foot or floor mat stuck on the pedal.



Some 28 years after 60 minutes broadcast likely one of the most egregious displays of yellow journalism by host Ed Bradley(yea the same guy who almost destroyed the Apple industry in his scare piece on Alar and apples), I still remember this well as a neighbor at he time owned an Audi 5000.

I remember very well Bradley's handwringing over Audi's running thru the back garage wall and ending up in the swimming pool and in particular a lady reporting that she had suffered a broken ankle because she had pushed her brake pedal so hard and still unable to stop the car. All this with a 5 cylinder engine and likely German brakes of world class quality.

http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2007/05/in-defense-of-the-audi-5000/


This almost destroyed Audi's baby steps as it sought to find a place in the American marketplace.

As I viewed this episode, I said to myself,,,,this was an example of inept drivers starting their engines from cold, fast warmup idle would give excessive engine speed, the driver upon starting would jerk their gearshift from park without first placing their foot on the brake, the car would jump either forward or backward depending on the selected gear, hence the panicked inept driver would have no idea what to do and the rest makes 60 Minutes on Sunday night television.

Does anyone remember when the brake interlock (cannot shift from park or start car unless brake pedal depressed) became standard fair on all cars,,not that many years later.

Does anyone remember the psychosis on the runaway Prius's and the video presentation by Steve Wozniak,,,yea the same guy from Apple. He reportedly breathlessly of driving his Prius at,,,don't recall exact numbers,,,at 65 mph, when suddenly without warning the car accelerated to 90 mph. . As I recall,,not certain,, that as all of this drama was unfolding, he at the same time engaged in a blow by blow account with a news reporter. I am likely mixing several stories and tales together here. My point again, not floor mats, not computers its bad drivers who have not the wit to take the transmission out of gear or to shutdown the engine. Yes Charley they lurk everywhere among us on our freeways and byways. Yes often even Mr. Darwin was wrong,,,or perhaps always correct but just a bit off in timing.

I kid you not,,,,,even 60 minutes,,,oops forgot NBC on their segments of saddle fuel tanks blowing up,,,,could not make this stuff up.

http://articles.latimes.com/1993-02-10/news/mn-1335_1_gm-pickup


Of particular interest this all seems to come from the same loon wing of the body politic.

Nothing personal Mr. Nader

Last edited by Sxrxrnr; 01/18/15 09:49 PM.