Posted on 03/10/2010 6:36:28 AM PST by justlurking
Guilty as charged; although I claim the stupidity and vapidness of youth as a semi believable defense. Hey, it was the early 80's and common sense was NOT what was filling my head at the time.
When I was a tender 18, my first car caught fire under the dashboard. With smike filling the passenger area, I slipped it into neutral and guided it off the freeway. As it slowed, I shut off the engine and coasted to a stop.
My younger brother had a hood pop up on him at freeway speed. He did about the same thing.
No big deal. Anticipate problems and deal with them.
I once had my heater coil explode while doing 70 on the West Side Highway in Manhattan. I did the same thing. I had the hood thing happen a few years later. I also once had the gear shift in a manual car break off in my hand while driving. One time I drove from one side of the city to the other with no brake fluid...lol...
Now that I think about it, I’ve owned some REALLY crappy cars!
I did the no brakes deal last year. My daughters car loast nearly all the brakes. I had a friend drive my other car in front of me so I could hit him if I needed to on the way to the shop. The rear brake lines had corrosion holes in them.
I’ve taught several people how to drive on ice. When you start to slide, look around, if no one’s coming, yell “YAHOO” and enjoy the ride.
I used to work for insurance adjusters. You can’t believe how many claims we had of airbags deploying while the vehicle was going down the interstate at 80 mph. Lesson: if you ever have any kind of front end collision, always have the airbag sensor replaced... whether the accident was 30 mph bumper bump or hitting a wild turkey. Also, every used car you buy, replace the sensor.
These days, any single person who owns a Toyota can end up in Fat City if he’s able to do a little creative driving and can act things out with a call to 911.
I thought this was bunk from the very first time I heard it, sumthin just ain’t right here...
He’s a Prius owner because he’s not real good at math, and now we see he’s not real good at physics, either.
There’s a village someplace that is hailing the CHP as a hero and the savior of their idiot.
“Sikes told reporters he didn’t go into neutral because he worried the car would flip.”
He probably just blew his lawsuit with this statement.
I think this is just another incident designed to generate lawsuits.
Toyota blew it, another perfectly good opportunity to reduce the Moonbat Carbon Spewer population. If I was the dispatcher I would have suggested he wrap the seat belt around his neck and jump.
In the first panicky seconds, sure. But this ride lasted 23 MINUTES and the driver was repeatedly told to shift into neutral.
Here’s a suggestion...
READ THE MANUAL!
PrIOUSes are known for frequent roll-over accidents, but I can’t see how putting the trans into neutral could do anything to cause it.
“Will a Prius even DO 80/90 mph?”
Easily.
Yeh...except he said he put it in his lap....
.especially since he said he had a recall card...and the dealer said it didn't apply???
So the cop and the dealer and the driver...yeh...sounds like they're all buddies...sounds like what buddies would do....and split the lawsuit profits....
Oh I am having so much trouble keeping up with such a very intellectual person who only comes across as a blowhard to us knuckle draggin mechanics out here in the boonies.
Einstein you still did not address my specific question. Obviously someone who kept driving off and on until getting to some shop, hasn’t a clue about sticking throttle (by the way unless its possibly one of the new fangled PLC operated Toyotas, in 50+ years of driving and working on cars, I have never seen a throttle stick that required paying someone couple of hundred to replace a $5 return spring on)
You'd be surprised at how many folks don't. I do, then I go out and try different things with the vehicle, just to make certain the car operates the way it should.
. . for those drivers too stupid to turn off the key when the car wants to go faster than the driver does.
I had no idea you were a mechanic. I didn’t even think you were a knuckle dragger, but now that I do, it clears up a lot of questions.
Was this rant of yours related to your specific question?
I must confess, when I was 20 years old I didn’t have a clue why the throttle was stuck, except that I was a few miles away from where I had just gotten some work done.
My home was about 40 miles away.
Now, if I was a smart guy like you, I guess I would have driven the car home, so I could brag about fixing the $5 part myself on Free Republic 15 years later. However, I must confess that I did not do that. Like one of them there in’lectule types, I drove the car back where I had just gotten the work done. Didn’t cost a dime. Thanks for caring though, really.
Why is it so difficult to simply reach down, turn the ignition key to the “OFF” position? Instead, the “driver” had time to dial 911, bend over to work the foot pedal, throw it into neutral, etc,,, all while the car is running out of control. It’s as if the guy called 911 ahead of time before car ran amok.
This sounds quite suspicious. But mostly, patently STUPID!
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