Toyota floor mats can kill....

[sammyg2]

Originally Posted by Brillo

I hope this doesn't result in the end of floor mats in cars

But won't anyone think of the children?
Floor mats must go!

If that guy had time to push on the brakes long enough to make them fade so bad they completely went away, and if he had time to make a freaking phone call, he had time to look down and pull the stupid floor mat away from the pedal.

[JFK713]

The trooper was driving, the cell caller was his brother in law who was in the back seat. Another fatal accident happend a few days later at the same intersection (teenaged driver blew a red while leaving another accident and killed an innocent lady) Now people are blaming the intersection for being dangerous.

[URY914]

Intersction don't kill. People at intersections kill

[daepp]

I just tried it in my 08 Lexus GS. It is RWD vs. FWD, but at 40 mph there was no problem kicking it into neutral - it acted just as you would expect. Car began to coast en the revs jumped. Admittedly it was not at WOT, but my gut says it would have been no different.

[Looking_for_911]

Does anyone out there know this section of roadway where the Trooper and company were killed?
Reason I wonder is I am always looking for an escape route when driving along, especially in traffic on the interstate... a somewhat safe escape route, that is.
Just wondering if he could have taken it off road any safer than what happened.

[911pcars]

Originally Posted by m21sniper

If i had one handy i'd climb underneath and see if there is an actual mechanical linkage to the trans from the shifter. I would not be surprised in the least if there's not.

I"m going with an educated guess that the Lexus, like so many modern, ECU-equipped vehicles, uses a throttle-by-wire setup to control the throttle control unit.

I would say that with WOT and a full head of steam, it would take a while to slow a vehicle down with just the foot brakes. Moreso, if the driver panics.

Sherwood

[jyl]

Something to try on the next rental car . . .