I Call Major BS!

[Perknose]

'My gas pedal is stuck' BMW driver tells 911 as he barrels down interstate at nearly 100 mph

The whole time I'm reading this article I'm thinking, "Why the hell didn't the cops tell him to simply turn off his ignition?" Seriously, no spark, no ZOMG 100mph!

Only at the very end of this Fake News article do they present BMW's response, which absolutely shreds this jamoke's claim he couldn't stop his car:

The BMW spokesperson said in the statement that "BMW drivers have long been able to rely on integrated safety systems that help ensure safe operation of every BMW vehicle.

"All BMW vehicles, including the 2003 X5 described in this incident, employ an electronic accelerator pedal which uses software logic to override the accelerator whenever the brake pedal is pressed while driving. This fail-safe software means that if the vehicle detects that both pedals are depressed, the on-board electronics will reduce engine power so that the driver may stop safely.

"Furthermore, the accelerator pedal in BMW vehicles is hinged at the bottom, and mounts to the floor. Therefore an object or floor mat cannot slide under the accelerator pedal and jam it. Original BMW floor mats are custom-fitted for each vehicle, and are installed with anchors to keep them properly located in the front footwells of each vehicle.

"The vehicle could also have been stopped by two additional means: By placing the transmission in neutral and coasting to a stop and/or by shutting off the ignition without removing the key. This is accomplished by turning the key counterclockwise. The engine would have shut off and the driver could have safely coasted the vehicle to a stop."

^^^ Lawls at "This is accomplished by turning the key counterclockwise."

Who knew?

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Dumbass.

 

[RLGL]

+1

 

[Raizinman]

+1

 

[esquared]

Sounds like this prius story from years back.
http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/toyota-runaway-prius-driver-foot-gas/story?id=10105404

 

[jtvang125]

The guy refused every suggestions the dispatcher asked. And when they deployed spike strips he avoided them too. So either:

1) He was trying to get out of speeding ticket
2) Get his 15 mins
3) Looking for a pay day

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Sounds like this prius story from years back.
http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/toyota-runaway-prius-driver-foot-gas/story?id=10105404

That sounds a little more weird/plausible though - police saw his brake lights, brake pads were burned off, so we know he was applying the brakes. If he'd been doing that and holding down the accelerator, it should have shut the car off - the engineers confirmed it. Unless the throttle could somehow temporarily go crazy, and then be fine later. But why couldn't that happen?

It's only happened to me once, but one time my radio stopped responding to all the buttons; just blaring NPR at maximum volume until I turned the car off and on again. It's been fine since. If whatever "silver bullet" random electron or cosmic ray that caused my radio to "crash" had hit my cruise control computer instead of my radio, maybe that dude in the story that nobody believed would have been me.

Full disclosure: I work in IT and am used to things with computer chips in them, breaking in weird and "error unknown: could not duplicate" sort of ways. It's also why I don't really trust all the newfangled gadgetry in cars these days. Some people see amazing features, I see future repair bills.

 

[Perknose]

Full disclosure: I work in IT and am used to things with computer chips in them, breaking in weird and "error unknown: could not duplicate" sort of ways. It's also why I don't really trust all the newfangled gadgetry in cars these days. Some people see amazing features, I see future repair bills.

Agreed, but then transitions to new(er) technology always have teething pains. When cars were first replacing horses their range and reliability were much worse than Old Dobbin.

The driver in this story could easily be either an idiot or an attention whore, but my main question remains:

Why didn't the traffic cops, the automobile-borne professionals in this story, instruct him to turn his ignition key one click counterclockwise? It's an old school interface easily understood by almost anyone.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Agreed, but then transitions to new(er) technology always have teething pains. When cars were first replacing horses their range and reliability were much worse than Old Dobbin.

The driver in this story could easily be either an idiot or an attention whore, but my main question remains:

Why didn't the traffic cops, the automobile-borne professionals in this story, instruct him to turn his ignition key one click counterclockwise? It's an old school interface easily understood by almost anyone.

Damn good question. No idea.

 

[Fern]

Is "hacking" a possibility?

By sending carefully crafted messages on the vehicle's internal network known as a CAN bus, they're now able to pull off even more dangerous, unprecedented tricks like causing unintended acceleration and slamming on the car's brakes or turning the vehicle's steering wheel at any speed.

https://www.wired.com/2016/08/jeep-hackers-return-high-speed-steering-acceleration-hacks/

Fern

 

[jtvang125]

Is "hacking" a possibility?



https://www.wired.com/2016/08/jeep-hackers-return-high-speed-steering-acceleration-hacks/

Fern

The guy's bmw suv is from 2003. Likely has a mechanical shift linkage that should have allowed him to shift into neutral. All BMWs after 1988 have the Brake-Throttle Override feature where it'll cut the throtle if both are engaged at the same time.

Amazing that Toyota didn't have this feature until 2010. However they were the first to implement it all their cars and trucks.

 

[teejee]

That sounds a little more weird/plausible though - police saw his brake lights, brake pads were burned off, so we know he was applying the brakes. If he'd been doing that and holding down the accelerator, it should have shut the car off - the engineers confirmed it. Unless the throttle could somehow temporarily go crazy, and then be fine later. But why couldn't that happen?

It's only happened to me once, but one time my radio stopped responding to all the buttons; just blaring NPR at maximum volume until I turned the car off and on again. It's been fine since. If whatever "silver bullet" random electron or cosmic ray that caused my radio to "crash" had hit my cruise control computer instead of my radio, maybe that dude in the story that nobody believed would have been me.

Full disclosure: I work in IT and am used to things with computer chips in them, breaking in weird and "error unknown: could not duplicate" sort of ways. It's also why I don't really trust all the newfangled gadgetry in cars these days. Some people see amazing features, I see future repair bills.

Every electrical system in a car that could cause harm is developed according to ISO26262 in modern cars.

Broken HW, flipped bits, SW going "nuts" etc are taken care of in this process (from safety point of view).

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Every electrical system in a car that could cause harm is developed according to ISO26262 in modern cars.

Broken HW, flipped bits, SW going "nuts" etc are taken care of in this process (from safety point of view).

That's great now, but the standard (published in 2011) wouldn't apply to a 2008 Prius, a 2003 BMW, or my car.

I'd expect most manufacturers were doing some (or all) of that before. Just maybe not across the board. And I'm cynical - I've seen too much weird crap get past the engineers I work with (and respect the hell out of) to think anything is guaranteed foolproof.

 

[jtvang125]

Tried both the shift into neutral and brake-throttle override in my 08 328 on my way home last night. They're not the same year or model so my results aren't conclusive. For shifting into neutral I had no problem doing that. The engine screamed to 6k but never objected to shift. Definitely didn't like it when I shift back into D as there was a pretty harsh clunk as the transmission reengaged. Since mine still had a mechanical shift linkage and his suv being older, it's very likely his does too. So I don't know why he would tell the dispatcher that he tried and couldn't.

The brake-throttle override also worked. The way it worked was a bit odd though. It takes about 1/4 press of the brake pedal for it to engage and when it does it's pretty jarring. It's like I jabbed at it even though I softly pressed down. Felt like it's either no brake or full brakes when it engages. You can feel the throttle cut out too. However there's the possibility that this also failed if his throttle truly did go crazy.

 

[HarryLui]

For shifting into neutral I had no problem doing that. The engine screamed to 6k but never objected to shift. Definitely didn't like it when I shift back into D as there was a pretty harsh clunk as the transmission reengaged.

Don't drop it in D while the engine is revving at 6k! It's call a neutral drop, very bad for the transmission.

 

[Rifter]

I agree fake news for sure.

Ive had my throttle stick 3 times in my life, zero of which resulted in any accidents or mayhem(well not much mayhem, just a nice skid), and no phone calls to 911 either....

# 1 was in my first car, a 1989 Honda CRX Si. 5 speed Manual. Was accelerating from a light late at night, no traffic, was playing a littler and had it matted for the first to second shift, i let up on throttle after making the quick shift to second and throttle did not let up, was stuck wide open. I pushed in the clutch put it in neutral and turned off the engine, pulled over, popped the hood, found a frayed throttle cable on the throttle body end would not allow the cable to back off once it reached wide open position. Manually closed throttle plate by moving the cable away from the guide to let it close and drove home avoiding wide open throttle, didnt stick again and I replaced cable next day, not a big deal.

#2 1984 Chev 3/4 ton 4x4, lifted on 35" tires. Auto. Was coming home from work was in middle of a corner when wham wide open throttle, which immediately put me into a skid as i was in the middle of making a 90 degree corner. I did not have time to stop engine or put in neutral right away i had to get vehicle under control first back end was lit right up, after a hundred yards i had it going in a straight line(but at 90kph) then i put it in neutral and turned it off and pulled over. Turns out the mount for my hydraulic pump(had a hydraulic winch) had busted off the firewall(was a little rusty) and pushed down on the throttle cable right near the carb to cause wide open position.

#3 1996 dodge stratus, auto. No idea what happened on this one, was driving down the highway not using the cruise control, when the cruise control lights on the dash light up and started flashing in a weird way, not normal at all, and then all of a sudden throttle maxed out. i put it in neutral started coasting then hit the cruise control disengage button thinking maybe that would snap the computer back to reality and it all of a sudden started braking on its own, like cruise control was set to 5kph or something it went down to idle speed and brakes disengaged. Pulled over, turned car off, no mechanical faults found, turned car back on and all was well. The ECU kicked it on that car a few months later so i chalked it up to a ECU error.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

#3 1996 dodge stratus, auto.

dave_the_nerd... Pic`s such as this are not to be posted in the garage...

AT Moderator
Bartman39

 

[zinfamous]

I found myself watching this again a few weeks ago. Old Will Ferrel...just so damn good.

 

[Rifter]

Was the girlfreinds car..... lol

 

[mindless1]

Obviously someone rigged his car so none of this would work, but bungled the circuit that makes it blow up if it drops below 50MPH.

 

[MtnMan]

DoH! He drove a BMW, how bright could he be?