I have had the throttle stick twice in my life. The first time was in a 69 Impala. The throttle spring had come off. I could only fully brake and down shift until I was down to about twenty, then throw the car into neutral. The engine was running at maximum. I stopped and threw open the hood after turning the ignition off. The car continued to run full bore until the coil wire was yanked by hand. A racing engine doesn’t stop just because you turn the ignition off.
The car was stuck at about sixty then I did the push to the floor and that will fix it manouver. The car had reached at least 90 before I start the down shifting and braking. I stopped about fifteen feet before an intersection.
SH*T! STupid clear field!
So, what happens when a person can’t hear a siren?
I personally, will never get into a car with my gramma again, or my grandfather, for that matter. I wish I could take both of their licenses away.
But you will get into a car driven by one of those 20 yr olds, short hair on the sides, long on top, driving a black Accord with big wheels with low-profile tires and noisey custom mufflers, and he thinks it’s a Ferrari?
Sorry, that’s hard to say in one sentence, but you know what I’m talking about.
Where’s handy?
I’m sure that deaf people aren’t denied drivers licenses.
Peace,
mangeorge (Probably spins do-nuts, too.)
The problem was, this guy couldn’t hear, or SEE. I have no problem with the hearing impaired driving. However, I don’t think you want someone who is BLIND out there on the roads.
Honestly, I didn’t mean it to be nasty. But obviously this driver was NOT what one would call very safe behind the wheel.
Not to Guinastasia bash, but just to reiterate, Deaf people are certainly not denied driver licenses. Think about how much you really use hearing to drive. Outside of the occasional siren, which is always accompanied by bright flashing lights, and perhaps the occasional warning beep there’s not much for the ears to do in aiding a driver. Other than help you sing along to your favorite song (often at top volume).
Not to mention that many deaf people can still hear loud noises. My sister, who is profoundly deaf, can still hear/recognize a siren.
It’s when people become confused or unaware that they become trully dangerous.
I can’t really remember from the last time I had my license renewed but do they ask for a list of medications taken daily? I don’t seem to remember filling out any information on that.
Don’t you think that may be important? I mean, what if someone is on a drug that, I don’t know, causes them to fall asleep without warning? (I don’t know if there’s one that does that, I’m just using it as an example.) Isn’t that something that the people essentially give permission for people to drive should know about?
Is it just left up to an individuals discretion as to whether or not he thinks he should be driving under the influence of this medication? I know that were he to be taking this medicine and cause a wreck that he would probably be cited for driving under the influence but if the accident could have been prevented, why would it not be?
I mean, the person could be issued a restrictive license stating that he could only drive when not on that particular medication or that another licensed driver must accompany him at all times.
Guinastasia, I wasn’t bashing you. I promise. As I near the age under discussion here I find myself feeling a little defensive about being blamed for endangering others.
Here’s your statement that led me to believe that you were, indeed, talking about deaf persons;
Damn, most of this stuff has been covered, but if I don’t chime in, I’d feel like I was losing my Board Mechanic Guy ™ title.
Few mistakes: He’s not 20. He’s 16, and JUST got his license. Short sides, long top is SOOO 5 years ago! It’s a Civic, or Prelude, not Accord. He’s a riceboy.
:eek: Yes it should! The ignition disconnects the coil from the battery and alternator. If your engine didn’t cut off, it was dieseling, meaning continuing to run by self-detonation of the gasoline. This is caused by too high of compression and too low of octane, IIRC. Usually brought on gradually by ‘dirty’ gas that burns poorly and builds up carbon deposits, slowly raising compression by decreasing the size of the combustion chamber. Try tearing off the head and cleaning out deposits next time that happens, and running a higher octane.
And blow your engine!! Turn off that ignition! At speeds above 20 mph, your vehicle is moving fast enough that lacking power steering will not affect your manuverability. In addition, if you’re not strong enough to steer your vehicle without power steering, are probably also not able to walk unaided, or feed yourself. No offense to DDG.
This guy is a fool. You don’t lock your steering column with the ignition at “ACC”, the column locks when set to “OFF”, which is the last key position, the one you remove the key at. In SOME cars, ACC is behind OFF, but there is still a secondary key position so that your vehicle may be disabled by retain steering capability. See my comments above for his remarks on power steering (which is a more recent addition to cars that A/C, disc brakes, or power windows).
A few short notes on throttles:
The ‘pedal’ is connected to the firewall above your foot, in 99% of cars. The pedal is on an axis. When you push down (in) on the pedal, it pulls up (out) on the throttle cable. The throttle cable runs through the firewall (metal wall in front of you) and attaches to the throttle body (in a fuel injected car). When the cable pulls on the throttle body, it acts against another axis, and pulls open the throttle butterfly (the metal plate thingy Obfus spoke of) which opens wider, allowing more air to flow into the engine, along with more gas, which makes the engine run faster. The throttle cable on the throttle body is acted against by a spring which is normally 15-25 lbs of pressure. This pressure is enough to get the throttle closed rapidly if need be, and closed completely. Idle is continued by various bypasses of the throttle butterfly in the throttle body. But I digress.
While it is possible for the butterfly to become obstructed and stuck, modern intakes and air filters preclude that in most instances. The throttle cable used to be an iffy part, because of it’s propensity to rust open or closed, or seize, or whatnot, but nowadays are usually made with a plastic or rubber sheathing over 90% of their length, which, combined with the strong spring pressure, is usually (if not almost always) enough to force the throttle closed.
The bushing on the pedal axis can deteriorate and stick, or the carpet can stick the pedal, or whatever, but if you take basic care of your car, your pedal is not likely to stick, if your car is less than say… 15 years old.
Now, what you SHOULD do if your pedal sticks:
See if you can’t free it with your toe
If #1 fails, turn off ignition (ONE click only) and pull over
Once pulled over, turn off car completely, reach down, and pull pedal free.
If pedal will not come unstuck, pop hood, find throttle body (Where metal meets plastic tubing, right after the air intake and filter), take off the intake, and check to see if the butterfly is wedged open (by a stick, pebble, small piece of metal or plastic, bit of squirreled away food [by rodent, normally] or other such obstruction.) and, if so, clear obstruction.
If no obstruction, replace intake, grab throttle cable lever (with spring-load, it’s usually on the rear, driver’s side of the throttle body) and try to free the cable that way.
If all else fails, beat your car with a hammer, scream a few times, pull your hair, and have a nervous breakdown.
You pegged it. Homer. I followed your link, and that’s exactly the persona I was referring to.
So please forgive my middle age myopia.
Peace,
mangeorge
Looks good for the old folks, except that a flat accident percentage rate doesn’t tell you anything about accidents per mile of driving. Probably 80% of the miles on my car are due to my having a job, which I one day hope to not have in that far distant day when I’m 65+. And I’m with mangeorge, gimme a decent trasport option when I hit grandma’s age and I will happily turn off the turn signal and get out of the left hand lane.
Misuse of statistics. What you need is an accident per miles driven ratio. I’t a safe bet to say that the elderly drive fewer miles per household. I can’t site the actual number, but people 18-50 drive around 13,000 miles per year on average, where people 50-65 drive about 8-10k, and people over 65 drive fewer than 7,000 miles per year. I learned this from my sister who sells auto insurance.
There are also some insurance loop holes in the way they calculate rates that favor the elderly. Again, the industry looks at things in “years” since the last accident, not “miles” driven since the last accident. The elderly tend to drive larger cars, fewer sports cars and as a group are driving relatively safe cars. YES…the industry does offer better rates on bigger cars. People are also less likely to sue an elderly driver. So, from an insurance standpoint, and measuring things fiscally and annualy, old folks aren’t a bad risk at all. But, mile for mile, teens and the elderly are the most dangerous drivers.
My accelerator has “stuck” 3 times. 91 Escort GT, passing at about 70 to 75 mph and gaining. After throwing it into neutral and having the engine race big time I figured out that the floor mat had shifted and the pedal was under it. At least the second 2 times I knew what had happened and was able to correct it fairly quickly. I am pretty careful these days about checking the mat on a regular basis.
Many “stuck” gas pedal incidents are nothing of the sort. I was involved in one about 22 years ago riding with my grandmother and mother in grandma’s '74 LTD. Going down a neighborhood street someone ran the stop and clipped the rear of her car spinning us 90 degrees to the left. My grandmother stomped on the brake with all the force she could muster… unfortunately it wasn’t the brake. The car went through a fence and careened over several little hills in a nartual desert area on a neighbor’s property while my mother was screaming for her to take her foot off the gas. My mother finally had to grab my grandmother’s leg and pull it off the pedal, and managed to stop us just as we bumped into the back fence adjacent to the pool. I hadn’t thought about that in years.
I’m sorry, Mangeorge, I should’ve been more specific. Honestly, I know you weren’t bashing me, and I wasn’t being nasty.
What I should say, that I would respond with, “Well, then why didn’t he SEE me almost hit him? If he can’t see, hear, or pay attention to what’s going on, what the hell is he doing driving?”
It scares the crap out of me to think of my paternal grandparents on the road. My grandmother drives like a snail and doesn’t pay attention to road signs, and my grandfather drives like maniac. He’s too reckless, and he’s on medication. Not bad in and of itself, but if he mixes it with caffeine-he falls asleep, believe it or not! Reverse effect. And he still drinks coffeee though he’s not supposed to, and he can’t see. He also has epilepsy, and doesn’t take care of himself the way he should. Trust me, this man should NOT be allowed to drive.
I couldn’t find any first-hand statistics (no doubt someone else could who knows where to look), but here is a blurb from the Washington State DOT that acknowledges the higher per-mile accident rate among elderly drivers.
What’s “per mile” got to do with the overall picture? Isn’t it a good thing that these folks do drive fewer miles? You’re still going after the smallest segment of the total of accidents, aren’t you?
Why not concentrate on that which does the most harm?
Do I ask too many questions for one post?
Peace?
mangeorge? (Huh?)
Homer I know it was dieseling. I was in high school at the time, and pretty well broke. It ran fine after reattaching the spring. The engine was at full throttle and I knew that I could have gone over a hundred. I can’t say how I know that, just use your imagination. I just wanted to point out that turning off the ignition will not always shut down the engine. This is a less than perfect world.
