Out-of-Control Prius Stopped by Patrol Car

**Blueneck** · 9th March 2010 07:30 AM

On the very day Toyota was making a high-profile defense of its cars, one of them was speeding out of control.

It was a pretty frightening Monday afternoon for a driver in San Diego. The California Highway Patrol said the driver of a Toyota Prius, James Sikes, called 911 around 1:30 p.m. to say the car's accelerator was stuck and he couldn't slow it down.

The caller was driving eastbound on Interstate 8 near San Diego as this was happening, reports CBS News correspondent Ben Tracy. At one point the car was traveling at 90 mph.

The Highway Patrol responded. To get the runaway car to stop, they actually had to put their patrol car in front of the Prius and step on the brakes. The car eventually stopped near La Posta Bridge, but the whole even lasted for about 20 minutes.

"I pushed the gas pedal to pass a car and it did something kind of funny... it jumped and it just stuck there," the 61-year-old driver said at a news conference. "As it was going, I was trying the brakes...it wasn't stopping, it wasn't doing anything and it just kept speeding up," Sikes said, adding he could smell the brakes burning he was pressing the pedal so hard.

In a statement, Toyota said it has dispatched a field technical specialist to San Diego to investigate the incident.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/...n6279727.shtml

If this doesn't belong in US Politics please put it wherever it does belong.

**Gypsy** · 9th March 2010 07:35 AM

[quote name='Blueneck' date='09 March 2010 - 09:30 AM' timestamp='1268145045' post='126904']

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/...n6279727.shtml

If this doesn't belong in US Politics please put it wherever it does belong.

[/quote]

Scary stuff. I saw this on the news this morning. Man, Toyota is in trouble.

**Blueneck** · 9th March 2010 08:04 AM

[quote name='Gypsy' date='09 March 2010 - 09:35 AM' timestamp='1268145323' post='126907']

Scary stuff. I saw this on the news this morning. Man, Toyota is in trouble.

[/quote]

Big trouble.

**Gypsy** · 9th March 2010 08:11 AM

[quote name='Blueneck' date='09 March 2010 - 10:04 AM' timestamp='1268147097' post='126927']

Big trouble.

[/quote]

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQ0aVipFR34[/media]

Thank God, for the police officer.

**Gypsy** · 9th March 2010 08:13 AM

If you have a toyota ... you might want to watch this:

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gNotPQjUeQ[/media]

**Blueneck** · 9th March 2010 08:15 AM

I'm guessing there will be dashboard video and the 911 call will be released. Which means we'll get to see the HP coming up behind the car going 90 mph with the brake lights on and hear the guy on the phone panicking because he can't stop the car.

And I don't think the Prius was even on the recall list, was it?

Toyota is doomed.

**The_Bear** · 9th March 2010 08:21 AM

[quote name='Gypsy' date='09 March 2010 - 09:35 AM' timestamp='1268145323' post='126907']

Scary stuff. I saw this on the news this morning. Man, Toyota is in trouble.

[/quote]

Its not just Toyota. I think Audi has the same problems.

I believe the problem is electronics - this sudden acceleration is coming from all the new cars, and not coincidentally all the new cars are ran basically by computers.

These 'electronics' are in all brands of new cars. Its probably some obscure piece of code, or some obscure chip, that looks (under normal circumstances) to be working perfectly.

**Gypsy** · 9th March 2010 08:23 AM

[quote name='The_Bear' date='09 March 2010 - 10:21 AM' timestamp='1268148081' post='126938']

Its not just Toyota. I think Audi has the same problems.

I believe the problem is electronics - this sudden acceleration is coming from all the new cars, and not coincidentally all the new cars are ran basically by computers.

These 'electronics' are in all brands of new cars. Its probably some obscure piece of code, or some obscure chip, that looks (under normal circumstances) to be working perfectly.

[/quote]

Lexus is having the same problem.

**michaelr** · 9th March 2010 10:03 AM

Hey folks, don't be placing all those eggs in a single basket. The accelerator pedals are built in the US, and the US is busy tanking world currencies, and the Japanese Yen is no exception. Now here is a different look at the story....

Another Anti-Toyota Scam?

Lets all at least question what we are told, we're not that stupid, and questions are free.