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By rvd2008 on 3/30/2010 2:04:41 PM , Rating: -1
His breaks were not just overheated - they were completely worn-out. Toyota itself confirmed it. Cop confirmed break lights and smell - do you suspect he is lying too? Now, you reference DT posts - how exactly keyboard monkeys far away from the incident could confirm or deny facts? Use your logical skills and think.

If you hit gas and break simultaneously in a modern car like Toyota Prius, breaks should take precedence and limit engine RPMs. This did not happen. There is excellent video on consumer reports explaining why breaking is not enough to overcome the engine: if you apply it more than once at full throttle you loose vacuum and with it power assistance. Now you could stand on it without success - car will not stop.

I do not want to speculate why this guy did not try neutral or engine off - I have no objective knowledge about that.

By porkpie on 3/30/2010 2:38:02 PM , Rating: 4
"His breaks were not just overheated - they were completely worn-out..."

My brakes were completely worn out the last time I took it in for service. Does that mean my car suddenly accelerated?

" Toyota itself confirmed it..."

Actually, Toyota confirmed the wear pattern on the brakes was inconsistent with his story. That he had been braking moderately, rather than attempting to stop the vehicle.

"Cop confirmed break lights and smell - do you suspect he is lying too? "

Which word did I use that you couldn't understand? The man USED his brakes. He rode them for miles to fake an incident. Of course the cop saw brake lights and smelt hot brakes. That's evidence against the man, not for him. Had the drive-by-wire brakes failed, he wouldn't have been able to apply them. And had they been working (which they obviously were) he would have been able to stop the vehicle.

"If you hit gas and break simultaneously in a modern car like Toyota Prius, breaks should take precedence and limit engine RPMs..."

Why? Brakes are FAR stronger in power than your engine -- even if you drive a 500hp monster. There are a billion cars on the road today that don't have this feature, and still are more than safe enough.

"There is excellent video on consumer reports explaining why breaking is not enough to overcome the engine..."

BS. In the previous story, I posted several links debunking just this bit of junk science. Furthermore, several noted car experts and sites (such as Edmunds) have already called foul on this guy's story.

"I do not want to speculate why this guy did not try neutral or engine off..."

The reasons are obvious. As are his reasons for immediately hiring an attorney to sue Toyota. And the reasons his ex partner and a few other people say he has a long history of such scam.

By rvd2008 on 3/30/2010 3:11:55 PM , Rating: 2
ok, I will bite one more time. Watch this

It explains why you can not stop a car if throttle is wide open and you lost break power assistance. This is a fact.

By porkpie on 3/30/2010 3:24:31 PM , Rating: 3
Response from a test by Car and Driver:

Same test by
The third test simulated a racing engine causing the car to speed out of control and the driver reacting by just hitting the brake pedal as hard as possible. Even though in this case the brakes had to overcome the motive force of the engine, they did. The car came to a halt in 148.8 feet, a distance that perhaps a large, heavy-duty pickup might make under normal maximum braking. With practice (this is, after all, a non-standard test), Josh was able to whittle this distance down to 129 feet. In other words, even if the driver of a runaway car (well, a Camry, anyway) doesn't think to put the transmission into neutral before hitting the brakes, it is still possible to stop the car within a reasonable distance if sufficient pedal force is applied.

Same test by Motor Trend Magazine:
we devised a simple additional test: We accelerated each of the cars to just under 60 mph, floored the gas, and then within two seconds nailed the brakes while keeping the gas pedal floored. We then measured the distance it took to bring each of the cars to a complete halt from 60 mph, and compared that to our tested 60-0 mph braking distances. Same cars, same track surface, same driver.










And finally:









By gsellis on 3/31/2010 8:43:13 AM , Rating: 2
It was not a Camry. It was a Prius. The Prius has regenerative braking, ABS, and master ECU all tied together. When it finally fleshes out, I will bet that the fault is in error handling from the ABS module.

As far as Camrys go, this proofs that if there is no lockout by any of the systems, the brakes will stop the car.




