# Crash in Niagara Falls (Wed November 22, 2023) \[Rainbow Bridge car explosion\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Tags:** breaking-news\ **Created:** [November 22, 2023, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crash-in-niagara-falls-wed-november-22-2023-rainbow-bridge-car-explosion/993546 "2023-11-22T19:23:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2023, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crash-in-niagara-falls-wed-november-22-2023-rainbow-bridge-car-explosion/993546/181 "2023-11-30T15:33:34Z")
> [@Tibby](#): > > Me: Ok, can you turn up the volume? I’m hard of hearing. I was at a friend’s bar one night hanging out. There was a cowpunk band playing (Think _Folsom Prison Blues_ with lots of F bombs). The guy who usually ran the sound board had to leave for a family emergency. The owner of the bar asked me to run the board. I acted like I knew exactly what I was doing, but I pretty much just tweaked everything to be LOUD. The band loved me, and tipped me a portion of their cover charge. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2023, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crash-in-niagara-falls-wed-november-22-2023-rainbow-bridge-car-explosion/993546/182 "2023-11-30T16:15:58Z")
> [@Chingon](#): > > 30 years ago was 1993. I saw KISS in 1976. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2023, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crash-in-niagara-falls-wed-november-22-2023-rainbow-bridge-car-explosion/993546/183 "2023-11-30T16:20:49Z")
I bought this KISS box set in 1976. > **[The Originals (Kiss album)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Originals_(Kiss_album))** > > The Originals pack was a re-release of the first three albums by the rock band Kiss: Kiss, Hotter Than Hell and Dressed to Kill. The paper sleeves holding each disc were duplicates of the original album covers. It was packaged with a 16-page history booklet, a color Kiss Army sticker, and a sheet of six trading cards. > The set was released to stimulate sales of the earlier albums once Destroyer became the first Kiss studio album to go gold. It reached a peak of #36 on the US charts in September... ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2023, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crash-in-niagara-falls-wed-november-22-2023-rainbow-bridge-car-explosion/993546/184 "2023-11-30T18:07:14Z")
As did I. Christmas of 1975, I got _KISS Alive_ and I was jealous that all my friends had their older brothers’ earlier records to listen to. I was ten years old. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2023, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crash-in-niagara-falls-wed-november-22-2023-rainbow-bridge-car-explosion/993546/185 "2023-11-30T19:28:58Z")
In 1978, I saw Mom & Dad rolling on the couch, they had my KISS records out. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.winston_oboogie/32/2945_2.png) [@Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Winston_OBoogie)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2023, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crash-in-niagara-falls-wed-november-22-2023-rainbow-bridge-car-explosion/993546/186 "2023-12-01T03:56:09Z")
Were they all right? ---
**Author:** ![Pork\_Rind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pork_rind/32/111_2.png) [@Pork\_Rind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pork_Rind)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2023, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crash-in-niagara-falls-wed-november-22-2023-rainbow-bridge-car-explosion/993546/187 "2023-12-01T04:24:41Z")
They just seem a little weird. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_the\_Turtle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_the_turtle/32/2926_2.png) [@Fear\_the\_Turtle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_the_Turtle)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2023, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crash-in-niagara-falls-wed-november-22-2023-rainbow-bridge-car-explosion/993546/188 "2023-12-01T20:43:34Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > Unlike other countries that do, and I’ve passed through exit controls in both the UK and Australia, for example The latter is particularly harsh; it wants to make sure the exit visa tax (AUD$27, last time I was there) is collected and it cancels your visa, so you cannot turn back Wait, am I the only one wondering how you drive out of Australia? ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2023, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crash-in-niagara-falls-wed-november-22-2023-rainbow-bridge-car-explosion/993546/189 "2023-12-01T20:45:24Z")
There’s a big ramp after you get past the booths. ---
**Author:** ![FinsToTheLeft](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finstotheleft/32/2930_2.png) [@FinsToTheLeft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinsToTheLeft)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2023, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crash-in-niagara-falls-wed-november-22-2023-rainbow-bridge-car-explosion/993546/190 "2023-12-01T20:46:08Z")
> [@Fear\_the\_Turtle](#): > > Wait, am I the only one wondering how you drive out of Australia? The guy at the Rainbow Bridge was almost going fast enough to manage it. ---
**Author:** ![Steven\_Maven](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steven_maven/32/3272_2.png) [@Steven\_Maven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steven_Maven)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2023, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crash-in-niagara-falls-wed-november-22-2023-rainbow-bridge-car-explosion/993546/191 "2023-12-08T03:18:40Z")
> [@Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](#): > > Were they all right? Mommy’s all right. Daddy’s all right. They just seem a little weird. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2024, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crash-in-niagara-falls-wed-november-22-2023-rainbow-bridge-car-explosion/993546/192 "2024-01-06T22:38:31Z")
Little update from last month: US investigators have been obtaining records from Bentley, and Bentley has been cooperating, but Bentley has insisted on a court order for any records that contain personal info about the owners of the car. US investigators were seeking a subpoena. Apparently they have recovered a badly damaged “black box”. This jumped out at me: > [@](#): > > **The 2021 Flying Spur had been recalled for accelerator pedals getting stuck, but only for right-hand driving cars issued in Europe and Australia** , and “not connected in any way” to Bentleys in North America, said Bronner. Stuck accelerators. Only in Europe. Okay… Plus this: > On its website, Bentley describes its Flying Spur as a “luxury sedan” with “effortless power.” The eight-cylinder engine has a maximum speed of nearly 320 km/h and **can accelerate from zero to 96 km/h in four seconds.** Just noodling, but if there is a stuck accelerator problem, combined with that rate of acceleration… (Plus, I’ll bet the marketing division is probably wondering whether “Flying Spur” was such a good idea…) > **[Bentley subpoena sought by American police to determine what caused Rainbow...](https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/rainbow-bridge-bentley-1.7063757)** > > A month after a vehicle explosion killed a New York couple at the Rainbow Bridge border crossing, American police are seeking a subpoena to compel car manufacturer Bentley Motors to release records to help them determine the cause of the fiery... ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2024, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crash-in-niagara-falls-wed-november-22-2023-rainbow-bridge-car-explosion/993546/193 "2024-01-06T23:55:28Z")
Disclaimer: The Flying Spur does not fly nor does it enable driver or passengers to fly. Bentley is not responsible for any property damage, deaths or injuries that occur if driver attempts to take off. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2024, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crash-in-niagara-falls-wed-november-22-2023-rainbow-bridge-car-explosion/993546/194 "2024-01-07T02:49:46Z")
Also, do not use the Flying Spur to get your horse to move. This is an inappropriate application of the vehicle and Bentley assumes no responsibility for damage to either the horse or the vehicle. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2024, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crash-in-niagara-falls-wed-november-22-2023-rainbow-bridge-car-explosion/993546/195 "2024-01-07T13:11:33Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Sudden unintended acceleration is almost always driver error: The driver thinks they’re slamming on the brakes, but their foot is on the wrong pedal. I don’t think there’s ever been a verified case of it being due to equipment malfunction. It’d be very difficult for it to be a malfunction, anyway, since it’d require a failure of both the brakes and the throttle. The insurance industry did a major investigation of claims of sudden unintended acceleration (SUA). What they found was that there were no common parts among the cars that had been implicated in cases of SUA, but, they all had accelerator pedals that were shaped similarly to the brake pedals, and would have felt the same to the foot. Which is too say, yeah, it was user error, but it was also a design error. A stuck accelerator (like from a mat) is a different problem, and can typically be slowed by hitting the brakes, giving the driver time to put the car in neutral. But yeah, that could have contributed, especially if the driver was drunk. When i lived in Princeton there were some roads that crossed route 1 with only lights (not physical barriers or curves) preventing incoming traffic from smashing into the stream of fast-moving cars. There was a fatal accident about once a year when a car drove through the lights. In every case, the investigation found the driver was already unconscious before reaching the lights, having suffered a stroke or heart attack first. I’m guessing that’s what caused this crash, too. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2024, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crash-in-niagara-falls-wed-november-22-2023-rainbow-bridge-car-explosion/993546/196 "2024-11-23T21:29:40Z")
A year on, and the cause of the crash is still unknown. Bodies were destroyed, so no autopsy results, and the car’s black box was too badly damaged; no recoverable data. > **[Questions remain after investigation into Niagara Falls’ Rainbow Bridge...](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/niagara-falls-rainbow-bridge-explosion-investigation-b2585975.html)** > > Investigators don’t know whether a human or mechanical error caused the fatal crash [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crash-in-niagara-falls-wed-november-22-2023-rainbow-bridge-car-explosion/993546.md?page=9)