Cruise control driver's call of terror released

Nine News ^ | December 16, 2009

[myknowledge]

Ford Explorer

Chase Weir and Sgt. Marnie Goldsmith, Victoria Police.

[gop4lyf]

built ford “tough”.

[thefactor]

So EVERYTHING failed at once. Except the cruise control? Huh...

[Graybeard58]

A vehicle that can’t be switched into neutral while moving? I’ve never seen one.

[BBell]

I’ve never owned a vehicle that you could not turn off with the key while driving. Is this something new?

[Nashvegas]

So what would have happened if he sinply killed the ignition?

[Dead Corpse]

Pop it into neutral and let the engine blow.

Sounds like someone panicked.

[Pining_4_TX]

Was this a cruise control issue or another case of unintended acceleration? There are some interesting discussions about UI at edmunds.com. People cannot seem to agree on exactly what the problem is, but the current recommendation is to put the vehicle in neutral. Turning off the engine will mean you lose all power, and braking does not seem to work.

Toyota/Lexus has had the most number of UI incidents, followed (but way behind) by Ford.

[blackdog]

And I suppose turning the ignition off would be too much trouble? Maybe bump the shifter into neutral?

Sheesh!

Chane title to "Smart Driver Smells Big Lawsuit"

[Robe]

Somethin’ smells fishy here ....

[Salamander]

BAN PIT SUVs!

[stuartcr]

Not even a skid mark?

[ConservativeMind]

Uh, move it into Neutral, idiot.

[myknowledge]

This must have been a ‘safety feature’ on ‘Built Ford Tough’ Explorer SUVs. No way you could kill the engine without damaging the transmission.

[r9etb]

And I suppose turning the ignition off would be too much trouble? Maybe bump the shifter into neutral?

I suppose reading the article would be too much trouble?

[668 - Neighbor of the Beast]

Hmmm. Seems like a whole lot of things failed at once. Cruise control, ignition key, brake, button on the stick...

[WayneS]

Unbelievable.

No, I mean REALLY unbelievable.

As in, I don’t believe a WORD of his “story”.

[pabianice]

Reality Show wannabe.

[downtownconservative]

Chase Weir and Sgt. Marnie Goldsmith, Victoria Police.

Looks like sparks flying here in this pic, no? Great way to meet a cute female cop.

“Help...help me unstick my accelerator” What a great line!

[opus86]

This happened to us on vacation when I was a kid...Dad just had cruise put on our ‘75 Cutlass. A couple of hours into the trip he couldn’t disengage it...I think he ended up just shutting the car off, but it was scary there for a couple of minutes.