OMG You just never know!!

[chew]

I think it would be interesting to hear what the ratio of accidents like that are for automatics vs standard. My girlfriends car is an 09 Honda fit. You pop the clutch with no gas = no go.

(amazing car by the way. Moved across the country with it. Roof rack, carrier, skis and 400lbs of luggage plus us. 35MPG worked out from 6000km of receipts)

 

[hitekcountry]

you would be shocked at how often people mix up the gas and brake and drive

They usually panic and stay on the gas.

I think in this case it was only her being thrown out that got her foot off the gas, because it was after she was out of the car that it coasted until it bumped into the other car, it looked like another 10' or so it would have come to a stop on it's own.

 

[chew]

I just remembered this and had to add it. My friend had his car over to a buddy's apartment when they hear all this commotion out side. They go to the balcony to see another car sitting on top of his girlfriends car! He had arrived there about 10min before this happened.

What happened is a woman around the age of 35 was getting in her car to leave. She was in the parking lot to the left of the snowbank. Started the car and began to pull out in drive. (This is where it gets strange) She said she thought she ran over her mother and went to stomp on the break but hit the gas and froze in panic.

Her mother was never there, just her and when her husband arrives he said she's been having some problems. Why they let her drive is beyond me but i'm glad no one was hurt as this could of been alot worse.


The car went about 15 feet through the air!

 

[hitekcountry]

I've always been conscious of the fact that little fender bender type accidents are quite common in parking lots. I just never gave it much though that there is also some risk of serious injury or worse. I think from now on I'll walk through parking lots with a different level of awareness.

 

[hitekcountry]

I'm sure she has an all together different storie for her hubby

Yea I'd sure like to hear what that story would be.

 

[deepNdirt]

I just remembered this and had to add it. My friend had his car over to a buddy's apartment when they hear all this commotion out side. They go to the balcony to see another car sitting on top of his girlfriends car! He had arrived there about 10min before this happened.

What happened is a woman around the age of 35 was getting in her car to leave. She was in the parking lot to the left of the snowbank. Started the car and began to pull out in drive. (This is where it gets strange) She said she thought she ran over her mother and went to stomp on the break but hit the gas and froze in panic.

Her mother was never there, just her and when her husband arrives he said she's been having some problems. Why they let her drive is beyond me but i'm glad no one was hurt as this could of been alot worse.


The car went about 15 feet through the air!

would you classify that as being double parked?

,I cannot ride with my wife driving, Not that she's a bad driver, she actually drives good and is always very aware and cautious of her surroundings,
its just that I always have to say something to her about here using her left foot to brake, insted of switching from gas to brake with her right foot, usually she'll pull over and have me take the wheel ...... But really my point to her is something like this accident could happen if ever being confused about braking? atleast I think it would confuse me!
By the way my wife said she uses her left foot to brake with because she used to always drive stick shift and always had her left foot doing something,
I told her that her left foot should only be for a clutch and suppose to use her right foot to switch back-n-forth between gas and brake, this is when she pulls over again and has me take the wheel...... for some reason I just cannot refrain myself from saying something to her when she speeds up on the rear of another car

 

[hitekcountry]

using her left foot to brake, insted of switching from gas to brake with her right foot
I told her that her left foot should only be for a clutch and suppose to use her right foot to switch back-n-forth between gas and brake

Ah, interesting point. I always drive an automatic using my left foot for braking and right for gas. I don't see how that can cause any confusion. I think the problem with the run away cars phenomenon is that the driver uses the right foot for both and at the time of "confusion" the driver is thinking that their foot is still on the brake.

I have no problem switching between stick and automatic.

 

[deepNdirt]

Ah, interesting point. I always drive an automatic using my left foot for braking and right for gas. I don't see how that can cause any confusion. I think the problem with the run away cars phenomenon is that the driver uses the right foot for both and at the time of "confusion" the driver is thinking that their foot is still on the brake.

I have no problem switching between stick and automatic.

yet another good point made, when the right foot is used for both gas and braking I suppose in some circumstances one could get confused.
actually when you first see the need to slow down the first responce is to let up off the gas, and then if need to stop then press the brake, we all know what works best for us,
but for some reason these small right or wrong things have been evaluated by our state patrol and the results put into drivers manuels,
this is just something I remember from back in my youth and studying for drivers exam , you are to use the right foot for gas & braking, their theory was that you have to remove your foot from gas to apply the brake theirfor will not be pressing them both at the same time, But things might have changed since 1974 the state drivers test might allow to use both left and right feet for each pedal,...................
hitekcountry, Let me ask you this----> if when driving a stick car and you come up on a hill and have need to stop, do you?
A- press the clutch in with left foot and try holding brake with left foot?
B- press the clutch with left foot and hold brake with right foot?
C- partly press clutch with left foot and feather the gas with right foot?
D-car floods and stalls out do you let off clutch to press brake with left foot?
E-or press brake with right foot keeping clutch press with left foot and then
try restarting car?

You will be graded on this

 

[hitekcountry]

yet another good point made, when the right foot is used for both gas and braking I suppose in some circumstances one could get confused.
actually when you first see the need to slow down the first responce is to let up off the gas, and then if need to stop then press the brake, we all know what works best for us,
but for some reason these small right or wrong things have been evaluated by our state patrol and the results put into drivers manuels,
this is just something I remember from back in my youth and studying for drivers exam , you are to use the right foot for gas & braking, their theory was that you have to remove your foot from gas to apply the brake theirfor will not be pressing them both at the same time, But things might have changed since 1974 the state drivers test might allow to use both left and right feet for each pedal,...................
hitekcountry, Let me ask you this----> if when driving a stick car and you come up on a hill and have need to stop, do you?
A- press the clutch in with left foot and try holding brake with left foot?
B- press the clutch with left foot and hold brake with right foot?
C- partly press clutch with left foot and feather the gas with right foot?
D-car floods and stalls out do you let off clutch to press brake with left foot?
E-or press brake with right foot keeping clutch press with left foot and then
try restarting car?

You will be graded on this

A- Never tried that
B- Yes SOP for a stick and depending how steep the hill, then heel and toe brake and gas
C- No, little hard on clutches
D- Good grief no I never stall out a stick shift.
E- See D

Of coarse if the imposable were to happen and I had to start on a steep up hill then depending on the car I would use either the E brake or clutch left foot and Heel and toe the brake and gas.

If I'm driving a large truck with a heavy load on a steep down hill I would heal and toe right foot on the break and gas and double clutch the left foot.

Do I get to keep my DL?

 

[Bird]

I told her that her left foot should only be for a clutch and suppose to use her right foot to switch back-n-forth between gas and brake

Well, don't give up, because you're right. It's a very dangerous, but not uncommon, practice to use the left foot on the brake with an automatic transmission. In an emergency, there's a very good chance such a driver will get confused as to which foot to apply pressure with. And even without mental confusion, just think about it for a minute. If you really have to hit the brakes hard, what do you do? I'll tell you what you do. You push on the floor with both feet, so I can practically guarantee that in a real emergency, a driver who uses his/her left foot on the brake will have the accelerator floorboarded, but after the wreck will swear there was something wrong with the brakes. And he, or she, isn't being dishonest, but will actually believe what he's saying.

As for a car taking off unexpectedly, I've only had that happen once myself. In 1991, working in my brother's tire dealership in Anchorage, the guys had just removed the snow tires from an old Pontiac and put the summer tires on. I got it in the car to move it outside, started the engine, put it in reverse, and it went wide open, spinning the rear wheels, and jumped backwards about 10 feet before I could get it shut off and stopped. Fortunately, no one hurt and no damage. The cause? A broken motor mount allowed the engine to raise up when I put it in reverse and the engine rose up (tilted) enough to pull the throttle wide open.