Car gets "jammed" at 135mph

[Bean Spiller]

BBC News:

A motorist drove for 60 miles at speeds of 135mph after the accelerator on his BMW car jammed and his brakes failed.

Kevin Nicolle, 26, was on the A1 near Thirsk in North Yorkshire when the car started to accelerate. "I was in tears most of the time on the phone to the police - I really could see myself dying," he told the BBC. He had to drive on the hard shoulder to avoid crashing but eventually lost control and hit a roundabout near Blyth, Notts, but escaped unhurt.

Speaking to BBC Five Live about the incident on 5 March Mr Nicolle said: "I was travelling down the motorway and I came to traffic in front of me. "I took my foot off the accelerator because it's automatic - but I wasn't slowing down at all. I hit the brakes. They were braking ok, they were keeping me at about 70mph. So I phoned up the police after I called the AA and they said straight away 'stick your hazard lights on and headlights on - we've got a helicopter en route to you'."

Police patrol cars were also sent but struggled to catch up with the BMW 318. Mr Nicolle said: "Then the brakes started burning out - I could see smoke coming from the brakes." He tried to put the car into neutral but the gears were jammed.

Hang on. Hang on. Let me get this right:

The accelerator jammed,
AND the brakes failed
AND the gearbox wouldn't let him put it into neutral.

For all three of those defects to happen at the same time is, frankly, bollocks.

One has to ask why this chap couldn't simply turn the ignition off and let the car roll to a stop, with the aid of the handbrake.

I presume the ignition key and handbrake were jammed too.

[marksi]

He said he didn't want to turn off the ignition in case he lost steering.

[Dr Lobster*]

when i heard about this story, i tried this myself... i turned my ignition off and it seems as though if your car is stuck in gear and moving the car starts up again, so that may not have done much good.

[fusionlad]

when i heard about this story, i tried this myself... i turned my ignition off and it seems as though if your car is stuck in gear and moving the car starts up again, so that may not have done much good.

Not if you turn the ignition off it shouldn't. You'd have to turn the key so the ignition lights go out, and leave it there until the car had stopped.

[Nick Harvey]

Fancy ringing the police whilst driving along............
exceeding the speed limit............
in what must have been an unroadworthy car.

They should throw the book at him!

[DAS]

I just love the idea of being in this situation and being told that a police helicopter was on its way. I'd feel safer for about 1.5 seconds, then realise a helicopter could do nothing but video the incident for the next edition of The World's Wildest Police Videos.

[fusionlad]

the whole story just doesn't add up to me.

I just get the impression that the driver was stupid. Turning the engine off and alowly applying the handbrake (before he burnt them out) would have been the sensible thing to do. He was scared to turn the ignition off because he would lose the power steering. Yes, but he would have still been able to steer!

He is a chav though I guess, looking at his pic.

[MarkN]

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0, ... 05,00.html:

Stephen Mead, assistant chief examiner at the Institute of Advanced Motorists, says:

DO NOT

# Put your foot underneath the accelerator pedal and try to lift it up. You could lose control of the vehicle

# Brake. It will not help as the accelerator will still be jammed on

# Pull key out of ignition — the steering will lock

# Try to use handbrake. “The rear wheels are likely to lock and then it’s goodnight Vienna”

DO

# Shift the car into neutral

# Turn the key one notch to kill the engine. You will lose power steering and power-assisted brakes but you will still be able to control the car

[cwathen]

# Shift the car into neutral

That sounds like the most stupid thing you could do. If the car is left in gear but with the engine off, then the resistance of the gearbox will help to slow the car down. Indeed, when all else fails, the gearbox is the only braking system you have left - you should try to change down through the gears until the car eventually comes to a stop. If you put it in neutral it will just free wheel with only wind resistance to stop you.

# Try to use handbrake. “The rear wheels are likely to lock and then it’s goodnight Vienna”

Again, this seems stupid advice. Yes, fully applying the handbreak would most likely result in either wheel lock or burn it out so it's unable to help you further, but applying it partially in short bursts will slow you down.

# Put your foot underneath the accelerator pedal and try to lift it up. You could lose control of the vehicle

Can't say that I'd agree with this one either. Firstly, if your throttle is jammed, loosing control of the vehicle is a likely possibility anyway, but secondly, it may literally be that the accelerator peddle is just stuck down - in which case lifting it up is exactly what you need to do.

Although it's not a part of this case, incidents like this are why I have vowed never to buy a car with cruise control - the idea that for a driver's minor convenience, allowing electronics to be in control of the throttle without driver input seems likely a fatal accident waiting to happen to me.

He said he didn't want to turn off the ignition in case he lost steering.

Perhaps now should be a good time to point out to him that he wouldn't have lost steering as long as the key stayed in.

[DAS]

# Shift the car into neutral

That sounds like the most stupid thing you could do. If the car is left in gear but with the engine off, then the resistance of the gearbox will help to slow the car down. Indeed, when all else fails, the gearbox is the only braking system you have left - you should try to change down through the gears until the car eventually comes to a stop. If you put it in neutral it will just free wheel with only wind resistance to stop you.

# Try to use handbrake. “The rear wheels are likely to lock and then it’s goodnight Vienna”

Again, this seems stupid advice. Yes, fully applying the handbreak would most likely result in either wheel lock or burn it out so it's unable to help you further, but applying it partially in short bursts will slow you down.

# Put your foot underneath the accelerator pedal and try to lift it up. You could lose control of the vehicle

Can't say that I'd agree with this one either. Firstly, if your throttle is jammed, loosing control of the vehicle is a likely possibility anyway, but secondly, it may literally be that the accelerator peddle is just stuck down - in which case lifting it up is exactly what you need to do.

Although it's not a part of this case, incidents like this are why I have vowed never to buy a car with cruise control - the idea that for a driver's minor convenience, allowing electronics to be in control of the throttle without driver input seems likely a fatal accident waiting to happen to me.

He said he didn't want to turn off the ignition in case he lost steering.

Perhaps now should be a good time to point out to him that he wouldn't have lost steering as long as the key stayed in.

My reactions were the same as yours... but then again I wouldn't argue with Stephen Mead, assistant chief examiner at the Institute of Advanced Motorists.

[cdd]

With cruise control I'd say it's all about risk. In spite of all our jokes, computers remain much more reliable than humans. Like it or not, a computer controlling your speed is several times more reliable than a human doing so. The media has a field day when technology costs lives, but the truth is that humans cause a far greater number of accidents.