Drivers Ed Idiot

[Rob 930]

This is why so many cars have a clutch interlock that prevents the starter from being enabled unless the clutch pedal is fully depressed. But they're such a pain -- because you have to depress the clutch -- that lots of people bypass them. Doh!

The Audi 5000 runaways from the late 80s spawned the now-ubiquitous shift lock that's standard on all automatic-transmission-equipped cars. The shift lock prevents the user from moving the transmission out of park without having the brake pedal depressed. It seems that Audi drivers were blaming their cars for situations where the driver would mistake the accelerator pedal for the brake pedal, and cars would rocket into houses and swimming pools "with the brakes fully applied." Oops.

[1yearonLy]

About 6 years ago I parked my truck in front of the garage on the street. When I came out about 10 minutes later I noticed it was gone. Bewildered, I look around and I see it clear down the street right smack dab in the middle of the intersection blocking traffic. It must have rolled 1/8th of a mile.

I was super lucky since it didn't hit a thing!! I can't imagine how as there are always cars up and down both sides. What a surreal moment that was.

[Kayser28]

It is nice to hear all of your words of encouragement. I had no idea runaway cars were so common. Here are some before pics. I don't have any after photos. The body shop took some and I will post some when I get a chance.

Porschenut, in retrospect I could have done about 10 things to prevent this from happening. In fact, as I look back I think at every decision making point during the sequence of events, I made the wrong choice each and every time. That said, I was really not expecting the car to leave, so I didn't have the "just turn the key off" response prepared. I don't know how your brain works, but mine was too busy trying to figure out what the he11 was going on to come up with such and elegant solution.





I realize these aren't especially good and are particularly bad for the front end, but they are all I have. I hadn't made it to a scenic location for glamour shots yet.

Anyone else think like me that this car would look awesome with a 993 front end?

[SLO-BOB]

Holy *****!! Who'd a thunk it??

I'll bet your next DE will be the toughest. So what's your official nickname? Might as well get used to it for at least two years.

[Hugh R]

In the USMC about 34 years ago, yeah I'm that old, I was painting the underside of a 2-1/2 ton truck using the air compressor from the truck next to us. Another jarhead get in my truck and turns on the ignition and starts it and its in gear and I'm under the truck and it starts rolling. My training that I had had in boot camp kicked in and I crawled out from underneath narrowly missing being run over by the rear dual axels. BTW, to crawl really fast, use your elbows.

The DAY I bought my Taurus SHO (boy that thing would scream) I parked at a store and left it in neutral and it rolled out of the parking lot, across four lanes of traffic and hopped a curb and stop inches from the plate glass window of a bank.

Ok, OK, the Aston Martin rolled into traffic once too after leaving it in neutral. Kayser, your not alone, there's plenty of us idiots here on PPOT.

[lukeh]

I forgot to mention the second time this happened to me. I was getting my car detailed and went to pick it up. When I arrived the owner was white as a ghost. She took me to my car and the hood had a huge gouge on it and the bumper had several deep scratches.

She said the guy was finishing the interior and need to turn the key to unlock the steering wheel. He turned it a click to far and it jumped forward into a Mercedes. For some reason the Mercedes was jacked up or on a lift. The middle of my hood went right into the tail pipe and dug into and up the middle of my hood.

She then said there would be no charge for the detailing.

[limble]

Does the radio ever talk to you?

[motion]

When I was 16 or 17, I drove to a friend's house and parked my '67 Ford Fairlane in his driveway in park and went up to his front door to knock. While there, I heard that sickening "thunk" sound as the transmission went into reverse. I ran around to the front to see my 5000 lb Ford going in reverse down a hill. I ran like hell trying to chase it (why, I don't know, just instinct, I guess). It went about a block, got up to about 40mph and nailed a mobile home at a 90 degree angle right in the middle. It was like a hot knife through butter. I'm stopping right here, because the image is just too painful to think about, even after 25 years.

[jwetering]

Funny stuff!

Couple years ago the guy parked at the front of the line while staged for an autocross reached in and turned his 1977 Targa on. It got quite a few feet before he reached in and turned the key off. I was right behind him and bloody glad it wasn't the other way around.

Don't be fooled - Back when I ran CIS, it would catch with only the shortest twist of the key when warm. 1000 rpm in first gear is plenty fast.

[Kayser28]

Mike, the radio never talks to me. The car does however communicate in non-verbal ways. Kind of like my wife now that I think about it. Coincidentally, my wife is also named Porsche. Both definately have a way of making their feelings known.

[Bobboloo]

a tow truck took off once and killed my sisters isuzu trooper.

Something about tow trucks and Troopers. Slight twist though.

My old Trooper was being towed by this tow truck driver and I'm sitting in the cab with him and I'm thinking to myself. "This guy sure is driving fast and aggressively concidering there's a Trooper hooked up in back." No sooner I'm thinking this when he takes a hard left and the tow truck does a weird stagger feeling like someones yanking on the back of the truck.

Well I look out the back window and the Trooper is no longer hooked up. I look back at the driver as he's looking in the mirror and says FUUUCH!

He hits the brakes and then the Trooper proceeds to pass us, makes a left, hops the curb of the median, (Damn off road vehicles!) crosses the median and runs into two cars on the other side of the road.

Next thing you know three tow trucks from this guys company are there and it's free tows for everyone!!

[Ken911]

You know the starting in gear thing does have it's advantages my throwout bearing went in my carrera in heavy traffic. I pulled into a gas station put the car in first gear then started it and off I went. when I would get to a red light i just turned off the key. when it turned green just turned the key and nailed the gas. made it all the way home that way.

[MJHanna]

I see a Darwin Award in your future

[flipper]

HAHAHAHA!!!!!! okokokokok, I got a funny one for ya, some might cringe or cry, but its funny now that is years later.

I was driving my 1st 77 targa triple black with an aftermarket turbo on it one day, just tooling along minding my own business, when all of a sudden, I smell SMOKE!!!! i look in the rearview mirrow and see fire and smoke coming from my motor bay. I pull over and shut the car off and run to the back, and HOLY S**T, My car is on fire!!!!!!! I did not have a fire extinguisher so I called the fire department. The fire department arrives within just a few minutes (and yes during all that time I am crying and trying to find anything to put the flames out). They park behind my car, pull out their halon hose of some sort, and proceed to blast the rear end of my car with all that white crap. There is so much white stuff it shoots out of the vents in the cabin and comes out the top of the targa.
Now the funny part. I guess the starter wires fused melted together because the car starts and is bucking down the road with the firemen walking behind it trying to extinguish it. It went on its own starter power for a good 50 yards before it quit. I cried then, but I laugh now. needles to say, there is a fire extinguisher in my car now.

[Drdogface]

If it make you feel any better try this true story on for size:

A few years back a friend who's been flying his own plane for years went to the local general aviation strip near his house. He had a old 'tail dragger' high wing aero-batic plane which he loved. It was the type that needed the prop spun manually while the switch was on to start. Guess he forgot and left some throttle on as well. Well, it started OK..but then took off by itself and flew in lazy circles around the area (Northern Ca....Novato) for a few hours while authorities watched and tried to figure out what to do. It finally crashed into a hillside and, luckily, hurt no one. He's still embarrassed but thankful in a way. He had originally planned to take his two year old grand son with him in which case the child would have been in the right seat waiting for Grand Dad to start the plane and take off.

So your story, while embarrassing, is much less so than this lad.

[NiceT]

Sorry to hear about this but don't beat yourself up over it, *#it happens. No one was hurt, just your pride. Remember that rookie Indy 500 drivers name that spun on the first lap several years ago
and took out several big name drivers? No? I don't either so there is my point, soon no one will remember. Some times lessons come hard and that is what insurance is for. Hang in there , you are alive and have your car. Hell, I backed one of my own cars into another last week and my wife couldn't believe I didn't have a melt down but what would that have gotten me. A $300 lesson for me and I'll be more alert next time. Good luck!

Daron

[Nine9six]

Man, that took alot of guts to post !

Sorry to hear of your misfortune.

[Rick Lee]

Some idiot once parked nose to nose with my 993 in a near empty parking lot. The lady didn't put her handbrake on and when I came out, her car's front bumper was against mine. Since it was a slight incline and I was on the downside, I couldn't back my car up without her car moving forward. I don't know if I could pulled back and turned fast enough to get away from her car, but then her car might have rolled into the restaurant behind me. I actually had to walk into the woods to find a big branch to chock her tires with. What an idiot.

[Cornpanzer]

My friend Mark tells a story about the old VW Squareback with the full auto tranny he had. It seems that early one morning before a big VW show he went out to start the car and the ignition switch wasnt working. So Mark (who is 6'5") slid under the side of the car on his belly in front of the rear wheel with a screwdriver and proceeded to short the starter solinoid to start the car. (betcha cant guess where this is going) The car fired up with a fairly high idle since it was on the choke and proceeded to try to drive away. The only thing keeping the car from driving away was Marks shoulder! So here he lay in the dark with the car going Rrrrrr - Rrrrrr- Rrrrrrr trying to climb over his shoulder and pinning him to the ground. After a while he realized nobody was ever going to find him, and realized that he was going to have to let it run him over. So he finally reached around the tire and rolled it over his shoulder and past his head. He then had to leap to his feet and jump through the open rear hatch slamming teh car into park as it jumped the curb and headed for his neighbors house. He said the car was less than 6 ft from the house when it stopped.

Every time Mark tells this story I laugh until I cry.

[Kayser28]

Ouch!!