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Anonymous Delivers! wrote:

I can't imagine that, being on a highway, they kept at it and went off the road into in an embankment.

Especially if there was a cop on the scene, I'd flip on the lights and start slowly grinding them into the median until it could be t'd in, and then extract them from the car.

I guess there's no telling based on the traffic congestion, but I'd hope that people in front would have enough sense to make their way right with a cop side-by-siding with a car in the median.

The "cop on the scene" was the driver of the out-of-control car, off-duty with his family in said car.

And as to why he didn't try something like grinding the median wall: people sometimes do weird things when they panic, and it sounded like he didn't have very much time to implement such a plan of action.

I've never seen a tow truck operator take the time to connect the car's brake lights to his truck. I'm guessing that would be a lot of trouble with modern cars.

Bren wrote:

I've never seen a tow truck operator take the time to connect the car's brake lights to his truck. I'm guessing that would be a lot of trouble with modern cars.

Tow truck drivers usually put their own flashing lights on the back, but usually there is a male/female wire connector you can disconnect and connect to your own light system. At least their use to be.

Anonymous Delivers! wrote:

D'Eyncourt wrote:

Anonymous Delivers! wrote:

I can't imagine that, being on a highway, they kept at it and went off the road into in an embankment.

Especially if there was a cop on the scene, I'd flip on the lights and start slowly grinding them into the median until it could be t'd in, and then extract them from the car.

I guess there's no telling based on the traffic congestion, but I'd hope that people in front would have enough sense to make their way right with a cop side-by-siding with a car in the median.

The "cop on the scene" was the driver of the out-of-control car, off-duty with his family in said car.

SHH I'm trying to blame law enforcement here somehow you killjoy

[reading comprehension for the fail]

And as to why he didn't try something like grinding the median wall: people sometimes do weird things when they panic, and it sounded like he didn't have very much time to implement such a plan of action.

But he had time enough to call 911.

That's the reason why I was confused.

This also confused me. He was on the phone for 50 seconds. Assuming it took him a few seconds to realize he was in trouble, dial 911, and get an operator; he probably had a total of 120 seconds. That is a ridiculously long time.

There is the fact that witnesses report flames coming from under the hood. There is a chance he was looking for a safe place on the side of the road to pull over, and let everyone out of the car. Stopping in the emergency lane with a car fire is dicey at best, especially if the drivers behind you don't realize what is happening.

I actually saw this scenario play out once in DC. A white Camry caught on fire, and the driver ended up going a few hundred yards before he could get over and stop in the emergency lane. Fortunately, everyone appeared to get out of the car. I was in the far lane, and going fairly fast, so I don't know how it turned out.

dv wrote:

My car will occasionally (once a month or so) decide to keep its engine running fast. It's "natural" speed in this condition is about 35 mph, so I have to spend most of the ride to work with my foot on the brake pedal.

Drop it into neutral and it (slowly) revs right up to 4500 rpm or so. Turn the car off, let it sit a while, turn it on again, and it's back to normal.

I'm not convinced the floor mat isn't snagging something, and if that's not it, it's probably just a sticky throttle cable. But still, kinda freaky.

Clean your Idle Air Controller (aka IAC).  They get carbon on them and can stick, causing your engine to run too fast or too slow at idle.  You can buy Throttle Body Cleaner at the parts store, but if you don't feel comfortable wrenching on your car, take it to a trusted mechanic and ask him about it.

As for blowing up your engine by putting it into neutral, the rev-limiter (aka governor) will kick in before the engine blows if it is in neutral or park.  My sister's Neon would kick in around 3500 RPM in park and neutral.  In gear it was around 5500 RPM.  I haven't tried it in my Jeeps yet to know where they are at.

Whatever you do, DO NOT remove the key from the ignition when driving.  Even if your engine stays running, there is a lock to prevent the steering wheel from turning that will be engaged, making maneuvering impossible.  You could careen out of control and have a serious accident.

If your car starts racing out of control, slip the gear selector into neutral and steer it off to the side of the road.  Once you are stopped, shut off the engine.  Don't worry about the engine blowing up.  Its not worth your life.

I wonder what Bren would have done in that situation if he were under the influence of meth.

resedit wrote:

Orion wrote:

Whatever you do, DO NOT remove the key from the ignition when driving.  Even if your engine stays running, there is a lock to prevent the steering wheel from turning that will be engaged, making maneuvering impossible.  You could careen out of control and have a serious accident

Yes - in our drivers ed class way back when, they told us that. Some mothers would tell their daughters to grab the guys keys if he started to get fresh, and after power steering and ignition locks, there were several deaths that resulted from just that.

Isn't that the equivalent of pushing the "stop" button in an elevator? Seems silly, road danger notwithstanding.

Thing about this runaway car subject..  if you buy a Mercedes, BMW, or Volvo (newer models) you have the option to have a auto stop installed or brought with it already installed.