Sulu

If a driver does not know what "put it into neutral" means, who knows what s/he is thinking when asked "Did you try to put it into neutral"? What if "neutral" meant "put on the brake" (and the driver mistakes the accelerator and brake pedals)?

And what about those cars that purposely make it difficult to put the transmission into neutral?

Some gear levers require the driver to push in the button before shoving it up into N.

Some are puck-shaped -- how easy and intuitive is it to grip and turn the puck (without fingers slipping) when in a panic situation?

Some are push-button gear selectors -- how easy is it to stab at a button and actually get the N button, without the finger slipping off and hitting another button? I am thinking that in a Lincoln, you may be just as likely to slip and hit D below N. But in the uber-gimmicky Acura push-button gear selector, where the N button is actually slanted forward, away from the driver, who knows where your finger will hit, perhaps P?

spwolf

these same people will make crazy claims about autonomous cars as well... or for instance with auto-braking systems, that will help with this for sure, I am sure they will claim it braked without need and caused the accident.

4TehNguyen

iTrader: (1)

wouldnt be surprised if driver panicked, couldnt think straight, caved under the pressure in trying to shift to neutral

mnewxcv

I think its possible the brakes didnt work (including emergency brake) if he was riding the brakes for any duration over 30 seconds. Especially on a cheap car like that, the brakes arent that great, and probably were hotter than hell after a minute. At that point, brake fade sets in and they essentially wont work at all, especially when competing with acceleration forces.

That being said, I see no reason why he couldnt have slammed it into neutral, or even park or reverse. OR to turn the ignition off.

4TehNguyen

iTrader: (1)

all brakes are stronger than the engine. Brakes on any car generate more g force than the engine does at max acceleration. C&D even tested stopping a GT500 at WOT with brakes. It took longer but it stopped.

chikoo

^ That should be part of the Driver's license test. Emergency procedures.

geko29

This is absolutely true if the brakes are within their operating temperature range. I think they also tested a Camry, and the difference in stopping distance between idle/WOT was negligible (less than 10 feet). But if you overheat them, all of the friction properties go right out the window, and the only thing that will stop you is a steep uphill grade or a collision. That's what mnewxcv was getting at.

mnewxcv

exactly.

if the car suddenly went full throttle, and he didnt slam on the brakes to bring it to a stop, but rather, rode the brakes for a minute to maintain highway speeds, thats exactly what would occur.

spwolf

probably would take more than a minute though... plus that does not change the fact that they could shift to neutral or turn it off... sad truth is people simply dont know how to drive.

4TehNguyen

iTrader: (1)

thanks for clarifying, but yea people are terrible at driving. Solving the problem is only a neutral shift away.