If you've been paying attention to the news over the past week you likely heard the tragic story of a California Highway Patrol officer, along with his wife, daughter, and brother-in-law, being killed in a car crash. You may have even heard the chilling, 49-second 911 emergency call from inside the car that leads up to the final moment of impact.
Unlike typical automotive fatalities involving alcohol or a high-speed chase, this accident appears to be the direct result of a jammed accelerator pedal (likely involving the floor mat).
If you're like me, you're probably wondering how a CHP officer, undoubtedly trained in the art of car control, could fail to avoid such a tragic outcome. But after my initial shock I began analyzing the specifics of the situation. Turns out it might not have been so avoidable after all.
Let's go through the theoretical solutions to a stuck accelerator and how they might have failed in this situation:
1. Shut the car off: Makes sense, but on a keyless start, push-button vehicle you can't just turn the key and kill the engine. The whole point of keyless start is the convenience of not having to use a key but simply having the key inside the car (i.e. leaving it in your purse or pocket) and pushing the putton on the dash (shown above).
Does this mean you can't shut the car off? Of course not, but it means you have to know how to shut the car off. In the Lexus you have to hold the button down for 3 seconds. Three seconds at 120 mph can seem like an eternity. I'm betting the driver hit (but didn't hold) the button one or more times and asssumed it wouldn't shut the car off when in drive and traveling at that speed.
To test the theory I hit the start button in a BMW X5 M this past weekend while traveling at a secure 60 mph (on a deserted road) and in full control of the car. The engine did not shut off. I hit it again. Nothing. After a third hit the car's engine shut off (I then hit it again and the engine started immediately -- I didn't even have to shift to neutral).
The point is, if I'd been traveling in an out-of-control vehicle careening through traffic at 120 mph I might have hit the button a couple times and given up on this option.
2. Shift into Neutral: Another obvious solution...but how many of you have ever tried shifting a car into Neutral while the throttle is pegged and the speedo is over 100 mph? I'm not saying it won't work, but I don't know that it unquestionably will work, either. It's entirely possible the Lexus has a gear lock-out that won't allow it to leave Drive while the pedal is floored and/or when the speedometer is above a certain point.
I'm not even sure if the ES 350 has a mechanical or electronic gear selector. The look and feel of the selector (like most of the car it's the same one used in the Toyota Camry) suggests a mechanical connection, unlike, say, a BMW 750. But I don't know if that makes a difference regarding what the shifter will do under specific circumstances And it does raise the question of what would happen if a 7 Series had a jammed accelerator and I wanted to shift it out of Drive. Would it let me? Regardless, I'm not sure the driver had the option of shifting out of Drive.
3. Hit the brakes: All indications are that the driver did exactly this, repeatedly. Witnesses say the brakes were spewing flames before the final impact, meaning they were extremely hot from hard use (and probably completely ineffective in those final seconds).
There are other theoretical options in a situation like this, including rubbing the car against a wall or embankment to scrub off speed, but I have no idea if these options existed in this case. I do know the driver managed to limit the tragedy to just the passengers within his car. Considering the amount of time and distance the car traveled with a jammed accelerator on a busy freeway, the driver deserves credit for at least this minor bright side to the story.
Ultimately there are far more questions than answers on this one. Hopefully we'll know more after the investigation, but I can't help think of the one time I've personally encoutered this situation.
It was 1986 and I was driving my 1969 Plymouth GTX. I floored it to go around a car as it turned into a parking lot (speed limit on this street was probably 30-35 mph and I'd slowed to about 10 mph). I only stabbed the throttle for a second, but when my foot came back up the throttle pedal didn't follow.
This car had a modified 440 cubic inch (that's 7.2-liters for the kids in the audience) engine. It launched forward with approximately 500 pount-feet of torque and showed no sign of slowing, even after I jammed on the brakes (note: 1969-era brakes and 1969-era performance V8s never did make for a good combination).
Once I realized the futility of hitting the brakes I quickly reached down and turned the key off. The entire episode, from flooring the car to realizing the throttle was stuck to stabbing the brakes to turning off the key, couldn't have been more than 2 seconds -- but it still scarred the octane boost out of me.
Turns out the throttle-return spring had fallen off. I coasted into a parking lot, lifted the hood, re-attached the spring and went on my way.
Old-Fashioned/Archaic Automotive Design: 1 High-Tech Luxury/Convenience Features: 0
By 08_miata
on September 22, 2009
03:17 AM
Here's one place where driving an "old fashioned" manual transmission would really save a person.
Gas pedal gets stuck due to the floor mat and all they have to do is put in the clutch and brake.
By billt9
on September 22, 2009
05:13 AM
The ES350 has an Event Data Recorder.
So the investigation will be quick and straight forward.
By billt9
on September 22, 2009
05:19 AM
honestly no car should have an accelerator pedal designed so close to the floor that there's any chance of interfering with a floor mat.
It was bad design to start with, coupled with a double layered floormat, which perhaps a lot of people do (rubber mat on factory carpet mat), is disaster.
All modern engineering should be designed to be idiot proof, especially cars, 3500 lb machines that idiot illiterate Americans and Mexicans are allowed to operate who can't even spell "definitely".
Especially dealership salesmen are dumbass high school drop outs who do a "whatever, good enough" kind of job.
By billt9
on September 22, 2009
05:22 AM
Now, a ditz who leaves her purse in the driver's foot well is an exception.
I don't think it's reasonable to engineer an accelerator dummy proof enough that it won't get stuck on a purse.
By boloti_troy
on September 22, 2009
06:41 AM
I bet in this situation anyone would love to have a car w/ 20 seconds 0-60 time and 60hp engine (which would not have the power to burn the brakes). Also, automatic maximum speed limiter comes to mind. Could really save lives.
By 06scooby
on September 22, 2009
07:01 AM
Wow... what a crazy and sad story. I wonder if the loaner car was quite a bit different from their car in which unfamiliarity with the controls in general probably played into it.
By ahightower
on September 22, 2009
07:02 AM
Ditto on manual transmission...
Karl, do you suppose electronic versus mechanical/cable throttle could be a culprit? Maybe something wrong with the cruise control?
By estreka
on September 22, 2009
07:05 AM
As tragic as the situation is, it is an isolated incident. Indeed Karl had a similar experience and I imagine there are others out there.
If this situation develops into a public outcry, I'm hoping it only goes as far as a driver's license test or a defensive driving course.
By karjunkie
on September 22, 2009
08:30 AM
I hate when they add totally useless things like push button ignition and eliminate the ignition key. I never thought it would have such tragic results but why is this stuff necessary? It just makes repairs all that much harder. Same with rain sensing wipers. One more thing to go wrong when it takes a nanosecond to just turn the wipers on!
By bepperb
on September 22, 2009
10:21 AM
I find it hard to believe that we're blaming technology for this, as though it would be impossible for the throttle cable to become stuck on an older car (which Karl points out is very possible, perhaps even more common).
I assume the driver didn't want to shift into neutral fearing it would kill the engine, and didn't realize how quickly the situation would spiral out of control. And who would? My first reaction to a sticky throttle would likely be to apply brakes as well. Even if it were speed-limted, it would probably be over 100. So in hindsight, shifting to neutral and grenading the engine would probably be the best bet, but of course anyone would hesitate to do that.
By shaddai
on September 22, 2009
11:44 AM
@bepperb did you read Karl's entry about shifting it into neutral? There might be a lockout or a non-physical connection there.
This is exactly why I cringe any time people mention brake-by-wire or steer-by-wire. Throttle-by-wire is bad enough, but those two BASIC functionality items are ridiculous to switch over.
I had the same stuck throttle situation happen to me in a 70's Toyota pickup. I tried dumping the clutch a few times (stupid yes, but I was 17 then), stuck it into neutral and eventually just pulled the accelerator back into idle. The truck did need a head gasket replaced shortly after this, but it's better than crashing. I guess I should have turned off the engine, but I got it resolved one way or another.
By tysalpha
on September 22, 2009
12:57 PM
Throttle-by-wire means an electronic signal -- like a video game controller. Throttle-by-cable is the mechanical cable version, and is much more likely to fail (metal fatigue, friction from debris, temperature changes) than the electronic version.
Karl,
A similar case happened in the St. Louis area a couple of years ago-- a girl driving her parents Lexus, and the floor mat shifted enough to get stuck on top of the accelerator. While the "let's put cheap floor mats on top of the factory floor mats--to keep them new" is definitely a problem, it seems the lexus accelerator design makes it more likely for this problem to happen.
By eidolways
on September 22, 2009
12:58 PM
My Dad shared a story similar to this with me. When he was younger, he had a classic Dodge Charger with the smaller V8, I believe from the late 60's, early 70's. He floored it one night on a straight road and the throttle return spring snapped. He managed to shift it into neutral and kill the engine. But is still scared him half to death.
In other news, I've read about this issue before, with the throttle pedal getting stuck on a floor mat - or at least with that being the given explanation - in a Lexus. This isn't a singular, isolated occurrence.
By eidolways
on September 22, 2009
01:05 PM
One curious question does arise reading this story. The defective floor mat supposedly held the accelerator at full open throttle. This means that the accelerator became stuck in that position and should not, unless the floor mat was alive, have gotten stuck otherwise unless the lip of the mat came up. So in order for it to get stuck, the officer would have had to have floored the accelerator himself for, say, a passing maneuver. But it would likely have had to be a full-throttle passing maneuver. That is, unless a Lexus ES350 could get to 120 MPH at 3/4 or 7/8 throttle.
By carlisimo
on September 22, 2009
02:00 PM
That’s terrible, especially happening in a loaner car. Even a driver who’s careful with the condition of their interior and knows their car inside-and-out can be as confused as a n00b in a loaner vehicle.
Fortunately I’ve never suffered from stuck accelerator, but it seems that turning the engine off is conventional wisdom and that seems risky. You’d lose power steering, which doesn’t sound terrible but in an emergency situation the last thing you want is a car that responds to input differently than what you’re used to. And that’s if you’re conscious enough to not turn the key all the way so the steering doesn’t lock! Worse, you lose power brakes. (Well, I’m guessing it’s worse – I’m familiar with manual steering, but I’ve never experienced manual brakes.)
I wonder why the “emergency” brake in cars is so useless compared to the e-brake in trains that we probably expect it to behave like.
By billt9
on September 22, 2009
03:15 PM
eidolways,
You read about this same story last year or 2 years ago.
It's the same car, same recall.
Somebody stupid just didn't get the message until now.
By billt9
on September 22, 2009
03:25 PM
i meant never trust somebody stupid at the dealership of course.
You wouldn't trust the young uneducated sales kid to prep your car on a sale, or ensure all the parts of the car are in the car, or any thing added on is assembled correctly.
The usual car salesman you see knows less about the car you're buying than we Edmunds reading freaks do.
By 06scooby
on September 22, 2009
03:36 PM
I think edmunds needs to look in whether the car will shift into neutral while accelerating... usually it's dropping into gear from neutral while having the pedal pinned that is locked out. Plus most modern cars have a revlimiter and will keep the car from "grenading" in nuetral. my Legacy is at the redline but I've had a few GMS that rev limit to 4,000 rpms if the car is in nuetral. Time to do a test Karl!
By savetheland
on September 22, 2009
05:46 PM
I hope cops relatives will sue Lexus and dealership for millions. It is about time to send message and stop this madness.
By dg0472
on September 22, 2009
06:33 PM
I, too, had a stuck throttle in a Chrysler product: a 1981 Plymouth Reliant. Here, too, the brakes weren't enough, so I shifted into Neutral until I could pull over. The throttle cable had frayed.
I must say, it's hard to believe any manufacturer designed a car that can't be shifted into Neutral at any speed, just for this reason. I checked the FMVSS on shifters and it's not illegal for it not to shift at speed. Hopefully if this was the case with the Lexus, that will be outlawed.
By wasaabi92
on September 22, 2009
07:50 PM
This wouldn't be able to happen with a manual, right? It would just bang off the limiter in neutral, right? *hopes and prays*
By aznraptor
on September 22, 2009
09:57 PM
cant you put pull the accelerator up?
By blueguydotcom
on September 23, 2009
01:01 PM
Wasabi, with a manual you could put the car in neutral and that's the end of the problem.
That said, I've had BMW's horrible floormats move on me on every BMW product I've owned, usually bunching toward the clutch, not brake. It's not a big problem, but it's happened enough to me that I wonder why BMW still doesn't use anchors in their floorboards. Instead they use cheeseball plastic you screw into the floor and that plastic has velcro on it. It's a horrible, horrible design and for me the driver's floormat always moves.
BTW, don't BMWs with Craptronic have the ability to downshift? I admit I haven't spent much time driving BMWs with automatics (it's hellaciously boring) but I was under the impression you could keep downshifting while braking. Maybe not. I know this wouldn't stop the car but maybe you could blow your tranny or engine? My bro-in-law managed to grind my wife's DSG in his first drive of her A3 as he kept pulling the flappy paddles.
By aohurst
on September 23, 2009
01:57 PM
Do what BMW does....hinge the accelerator at the bottom -- not the top.
By estreka
on September 23, 2009
03:14 PM
Something I just thought about...
Wouldn't switching the car off lock the steering wheel? Yes you'd lose momentum, but if you can't veer about, then that may not be such a good idea.
By george2040
on September 23, 2009
05:39 PM
Haven't experienced anything like this, but I bet it's very difficult to deal with an unfamiliar car while in a panic. Maybe car manufacturers need to get together to standardize the keyless start function. Holding down the start button for 3 seconds after taking a second to realize what is happening is way too long. I would never have guessed that pressing the start button down for 3 seconds has a different result than holding down the button for 1 second.
I drove a rental Camry on vacation this summer and had a little difficulty getting used to the shift gate on the automatic gear selector. Might have been difficult to shift the similar ES-350 into neutral after the panic of the engine not shutting off and the brakes burning up. Accidentally put the transmission into the manual gear selection mode and moving the lever toward neutral results in an upshift instead.
http://l.yimg.com/dv/izp/lexus_es_350_sedan_2008_interior_gearshift.jpg
http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/direct/view/.ef81d7e/2716#MSG2716
By kb9nvh
on February 5, 2010
09:15 AM
I was in an 1978 mercury luxery wagon (was an ex executive car for the store I worked at but was now a beater for employees to use). Cruise control was on. Was traveling about 45 coming up to a stop light (with a line of stopped cars). Hitting the brakes is supposed to disenguage the cruise but it did NOT. As I attempted to slow the engine began to Rev, the more I hit the brakes the more vacumme I used and the more the power brakes were being used up. Last ditch effort before hitting the line of cars was to throw the shifter into neutral...of course I missed nuetral and hit reverse. This LOCKS the back tires and induces a skid. I stopped inches from the line of cars, wagon sideways in the road.
Restarted the car, pulled into a parking lot, removed the cruise chain that attached to the accelerator linkage. Finished my task, went back and reported it..I'm sure someone hooked it back up eventually and had it happen all over again.