Out-of-Control Prius Stopped by Patrol Car

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

The California Highway Patrol said the driver of a Toyota Prius called 911 around 1:30 p.m. to say the car's accelerator was stuck and he couldn't slow it down.

The caller was driving eastbound on Interstate 8 near San Diego as this was happening, reports CBS News correspondent Ben Tracy. At one point the car was traveling at 90 mph.

The Highway Patrol responded. To get the runaway car to stop, they actually had to put their patrol car in front of the Prius and step on the brakes. The car eventually stopped near La Posta Bridge, but the whole even lasted for about 20 minutes.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/03/08/...in6279727.shtml

[trillium13 84]

I don't understand why you couldn't just put the car in neutral or downshift. I had a VW Rabbit that used to do this, and that was what I'd have to do. Scary stuff yeah, but not worth calling 911 over.

[Ali G. 37]

I don't know if this is real of people are just trying to scam money out of them or get out of a ticket. It is California after all. The prius was actually not even on part of the recall and was built in Japan, using different components and different suppliers. They only had a brake glitch.

Edited March 9, 2010 by Booyah

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

I don't know if this is real of people are just trying to scam money out of them or get out of a ticket. It is California after all. The prius was actually not even on part of the recall and was built in Japan, using different components and different suppliers. They only had a brake glitch.

2004-2009 Prius' have the floor mat recall. 2010 Prius' have a braking issue. Nothing on the site about the accelerator problem. Interestng.

[Ali G. 37]

Click on the link and look at the guy..

[natty bumppo 297]

Click on the link and look at the guy..

azzholes .. the idiot was speeding ....

great way to get out of a ticket ....

[nathandace 0]

that's insane, was he actually trying to be sincere ? or was he trying to justify speeding?

[SMR 368]

that's insane, was he actually trying to be sincere ? or was he trying to justify speeding?

I find the reporting of these cases very suspect. As has been mentioned in this forum before, there are simple ways to override the accelerator, like turning the key back one position, or even more simply shifting to neutral. On top of that, the brakes are sized to overpower the accelerator (consider how much faster you can go from 60 to 0 than you can go from 0 to 60).

This man managed to go 20 minutes? He obviously didn't just panic, since he was able to avoid a crash while going 90 mph for 20 minutes. Either he is a moron, or he is pulling a fast one.

On top of this, I find the reporting of these incidents irresponsible, trying to create a panic instead of trying to inform people of how they could safely bring a car to a stop if this happened to them.

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

The California Highway Patrol said the driver of a Toyota Prius called 911 around 1:30 p.m. to say the car's accelerator was stuck and he couldn't slow it down.

The caller was driving eastbound on Interstate 8 near San Diego as this was happening, reports CBS News correspondent Ben Tracy. At one point the car was traveling at 90 mph.

The Highway Patrol responded. To get the runaway car to stop, they actually had to put their patrol car in front of the Prius and step on the brakes. The car eventually stopped near La Posta Bridge, but the whole even lasted for about 20 minutes.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/03/08/...in6279727.shtml

He sounds like an idiot.

[Wyld Blu 35]

Actually, I heard the Highway Patrol talking about this on the radio last night.

Perhaps it is because the news LOVES to add drama to their stories, but the C.H.P did NOT use their car to stop the Prius. They instructed him, via the loud speakers mounted on their car, to literally stand on his brakes, use the emergency brakes and put the car in neutral. He was going up a 6% grade at the time. The car finally slowed to a stop. AFTER HE WAS STOPPED, the C.H.P put their car in front of him, to prevent it from possibly taking off again. Gotta love the ACCURATE reporting of the news.

Again, the California Highway Patrol reports that they did NOT use their car to stop him, and that is a rumor generated by the news.

-Blu-

[Ali G. 37]

Once again, the Prius is not being recalled for accelerator pedal issues. Nevertheless, why not just stick it in Neutral? Or is he going to expect us to believe the car is Christine and has a mind of its own.

The guy is clearly making it up to get out of speeding. This is America after all, for every legitimate case there will be 1,001 others basically pretending it happened to them, in order to to sue for $3 million.

Edited March 9, 2010 by Booyah

[trillium13 84]

The guy is clearly making it up to get out of speeding. This is America after all, for every legitimate case there will be 1,001 others basically pretending it happened to them, in order to to sue for $3 million.

So he was speeding for 20 minutes and then called the cops? That doesn't make sense. Obviously something is missing from this story here. It's AW'ing at best and an attempt to to suck some money out of Toyota at worst.

[Ali G. 37]

So he was speeding for 20 minutes and then called the cops? That doesn't make sense. Obviously something is missing from this story here. It's AW'ing at best and an attempt to to suck some money out of Toyota at worst.

I actually think if he does attempt to extract money and they find nothing wrong with the car, Toyota should be able to sue for damage to their name.

[trillium13 84]

I actually think if he does attempt to extract money and they find nothing wrong with the car, Toyota should be able to sue for damage to their name.

That goes for every one of those people who try to fake this problem in their cars. Is the accelerator a problem in some cars? Yes. Are some people just idiots, or trying to exploit this issue for their own gain? Absolutely.

[Ban Hammer 13,342]

He sounds like an idiot.

well, he was driving a prius. case closed.