anyone see that car crash in the states from a floor mat?

[ari666]

this guy crashes and kills himself and his family after his floor mat got caught up in the accelerator pedal. the news said he got beyond speeds of 120Mph then crashes in a massive ball of flame.

Toyota, Lexus Dealers Will Inspect Floor Mats After Tragic Accident - U.S. News Rankings and Reviews


i guess he didnt know that the 'N' on his gear selector meant NEUTRAL and the engine could rev all it liked till he stopped and untangled his mat....

and now lexus are having a recall?!?!?!?! wtf man, some people shouldnt be allowed to drive.

discuss

[227shanno]

some people just have no life skills, doing 200ks and he didn't think of neutral, or just turning off the engine?

[MY-42-VT]

.......... americans, seriously one if four of them are freaking retarded....

honestly thats gotta be a pretty shitty way to die.... makes ya wonder how the floor mat got up there to jam it ? ... bit confusing

[VZ SV6]

Handbrake?? I'd be trying anything and everything.

[MY-42-VT]

they where probly more worried bout no scratching there lexus, or damaging it by doing something like ripping the hand brake on, or putting it into nuetral and turning it off....but i guess if they turned it off and they tried streeing it and the steering lock came on, that'd end just as bad.. but no in death i guess ... mmmm

americans

[VN_Luke]

A passenger in the car "called police about a minute before the crash to say the vehicle had no brakes and the accelerator was stuck."

(as said above)

One minute ..... to think of turning off the ignition, or putting the thing in neutal.... sorry, but this is a darwin award in the making.

Crash investigators haven't released a final conclusion, but told reporters that a driver's-side all-weather floor mat found at the scene doesn't match the ES 350.

USA Today notes that the mismatched mat "could have snared or covered the accelerator pedal."

... certainly some expert evidence that a mat found at the scene of an accident must have caused it... becuase it wasn't designed for that car.


It's not going to be long until we start seeing articles like this in our own papers (although it's already started).

[VN_Luke]

A passenger in the car "called police about a minute before the crash to say the vehicle had no brakes and the accelerator was stuck."

(as said above)

One minute ..... to think of turning off the ignition, or putting the thing in neutal.... or even *gasp* - MOVING THE BLOODY MAT. sorry, but this is a darwin award in the making.


[IMG]Crash investigators haven't released a final conclusion, but told reporters that a driver's-side all-weather floor mat found at the scene doesn't match the ES 350.[/IMG]

USA Today notes that the mismatched mat "could have snared or covered the accelerator pedal."

... certainly some expert evidence that a mat found at the scene of an accident must have caused it... becuase it wasn't designed for that car.


It's not going to be long until we start seeing articles like this in our own papers (although it's already started).

[227shanno]

what did they expect the police to say to them on the phone?

[MY-42-VT]

they where probly telling the coppa not to book them if they sped past a cop car ...... like i've said over and over... one if four are retarded ....

[ryno_vrx]

it claims the driver was a cop so he was probably on the phone bragging to his mates how fast the car goes

[TVR-190]

ill be honest. a similar thing happened with my old car and the floormat

car was speeding up quickly and was fairly scary, but i just braked hard
(car still slowed down, pulled over and fixed it)

[STEALTHY™]

they where probly more worried bout no scratching there lexus, or damaging it by doing something like ripping the hand brake on, or putting it into nuetral and turning it off....but i guess if they turned it off and they tried streeing it and the steering lock came on, that'd end just as bad.. but no in death i guess ... mmmm

americans

Your aware of how the steering lock works yes? Just turn the car to accessories, and you stiff have turning (Now that i think of it, mine wil only lock if i take the key all the way out)

[MY-42-VT]

yea but u think... they panic so they turn the car right off... don't think about it then click...

[STEALTHY™]

yea but u think... they panic so they turn the car right off... don't think about it then click...

I've had the accelerator get stuck on in my VL, all i did was put the clutch in and turn the car off (was on a 100 road), no panicing. This is just another case of stupid driver causing problems (and probably a recall for nothing)

[SIG-054]

the driver sounded pretty calm in the emergency call.... suicide maybe?

[ari666]

i smell another pointless ADR coming..

ADR 6502/00 all car mats and carpets from 2010 must meet with stringent guidelines to ensure they never obstruct the accelerator pedal.

i will put that adr up there with "all cars from 2008 must have curtain airbags" and "all cars from 2009 must have ESP"

[STEALTHY™]

the driver sounded pretty calm in the emergency call.... suicide maybe?

That was my first thoughts, and i havn't even heard the call

[666vt]

Drivers trapped in a car with the accelerator stuck have several, very limited options. Toyota's Lyons told USA Today, "The driver could have put the car in neutral to disengage the engine from the automatic transmission." He "also could have turned off the by holding down the start switch for three seconds, but that could have locked the steering wheel, turned off the headlights and cut power-assist to the brakes, Lyons said."

what does it mean by start switch??? does this lexus not have a key but a start button? it says 'electronically keyed car' is that like the commodore keys with the buttons on them lol?

[davway]

Drivers trapped in a car with the accelerator stuck have several, very limited options. Toyota's Lyons told USA Today, "The driver could have put the car in neutral to disengage the engine from the automatic transmission." He "also could have turned off the by holding down the start switch for three seconds, but that could have locked the steering wheel, turned off the headlights and cut power-assist to the brakes, Lyons said."

what does it mean by start switch??? does this lexus not have a key but a start button? it says 'electronically keyed car' is that like the commodore keys with the buttons on them lol?

thats the credit card like thing that you leave in your pocket.
it is proximity activated.
you get so close to the car and the doors will unlock - walk away from the car and the doors will lock.
there is no key as such - so long as this card is within range, you just need to push the start button and its ready to go.

The closet i have ever come to a similar situation was in my old manual Mazda.
I was resting my foot behind the clutch pedal and somehow my shoelace got hooked over the pedal so i couldnt get my foot out from behind it.
was coming up to a stop sign and couldnt push the clutch in - ws starting to get worried till i thought about it.
a shoelace will undo - so i just pulled my foot hard and the lace came undone.
it was a panic moment for a second.

[Calaber]

I can just imagine Lexus dealers telling customers from now on that all new Lexus models are fitted with idiot-proof floor mats.

[ari666]

thats the credit card like thing that you leave in your pocket.
it is proximity activated.
you get so close to the car and the doors will unlock - walk away from the car and the doors will lock.
there is no key as such - so long as this card is within range, you just need to push the start button and its ready to go.

see this is what is starting to really piss me off about recent cars/laws.

dynamic stability control, traction cortrol, ABS, hell even the stupid toy hybrids have a 'self parking' function. they are taking away control of our own vehicles, and why? cos' some schmucks without a clue and who shouldnt have a licence in the first place have such horrific accidents that the govt. are forced to place stupid laws/regulations to stop the next schmuck from having the same or worse horrific accident...


cant we just stop the idiots from getting their licences approved in the first place?

[k3v0]

It's quite sad hearing how people die because of something stupid and where it's not their fault. It might seem pretty dump of him not thinking of anything to do but he might also be in a panic stage where he can't think straight. I dont know... Pretty sad.

[Calaber]

see this is what is starting to really piss me off about recent cars/laws.

dynamic stability control, traction cortrol, ABS, hell even the stupid toy hybrids have a 'self parking' function. they are taking away control of our own vehicles, and why? cos' some schmucks without a clue and who shouldnt have a licence in the first place have such horrific accidents that the govt. are forced to place stupid laws/regulations to stop the next schmuck from having the same or worse horrific accident...


cant we just stop the idiots from getting their licences approved in the first place?

I think a lot of this technical junk is put in cars just to show off. Some of it is useful, a lot is just gimmickry, installed to give the manufacturer an edge on his opposition. Self parking cars have to be the most useless, stupidest creation in a long time. If you can't park, don't bloody drive! Volvo have automatic braking systems that detect when you are getting too close to the car in front and will hit it if the brakes are not applied, so they self-apply. Useful, I suppose, but again, simply applying technology to cover up the drivers' inadequacies. My Golf had auto wipers. Hell, when the screen got wet, I knew where the wiper switch was! And a lot of this crap is bloody expensive to repair or replace.

[GetToDaChopa]

Wow i'm so happy my cars are simple. Now i'm starting to like the no computer thing in my VH even more. Computers don't belong in cars.

.... Also sad to hear about the guy and the family... So there was him, and what 2 or 3 other people? None of them said "Hey Steve* put the car in neutral you idiot".


*whatever his name is.