Woman covers 59 Miles in 35 Minutes with a stuck accelerator

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- An Iowa woman whose accelerator got stuck as she drove up Interstate 35 in Missouri managed to control the vehicle even as speeds topped 110 mph and she was forced to the median several times to avoid other drivers, the Missouri State Highway Patrol said....

Osceola she was told to lift up the accelerator and push on the brake.

"And so I did that, and it slammed me from 119 mph to like nothing," she said.....

... Highway Patrol's headquarters in Jefferson City -- told her to do, including trying to shift the vehicle into neutral. The vehicle had a "proximity key," Lyon said, which allows someone to start the car without a real key when they're close enough to it.


Stuck accelerator takes woman on ride over 110 mph - CBS News

  • Had she been in L.A., no one would have really noticed...just another Monday...
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  • Profile picture of the author Kurt
    Couldn't she just turn the car off?
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    • Originally Posted by Kurt View Post

      Couldn't she just turn the car off?
      then you have no power steering, or brakes...she could have tried to just put it in neutral though...and pull off safely in the median...

      Course' at the high RPM, the engine could have blown...but at least in neutral you have a chance to pump the accelerator and see if you can unstick it...
      kind of ironic it was a new car too...2011 Kia Sorento
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  • Profile picture of the author HeySal
    Not the sharpest knife in the drawer - but at least she didn't hit anything. Would love a video of her facial expressions. I bet she was hilarious.
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  • Profile picture of the author Dan Riffle
    I would not have wanted to smell the inside of the car immediately afterward.
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    Raising a child is akin to knowing you're getting fired in 18 years and having to train your replacement without actively sabotaging them.

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  • Profile picture of the author bravo75
    I've never been in a situation like that. Couldn't she have gone into neutral and gently hit the brake pedal?
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    • Originally Posted by bravo75 View Post

      I've never been in a situation like that. Couldn't she have gone into neutral and gently hit the brake pedal?
      ........Yup!
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    • Profile picture of the author HeySal
      Originally Posted by bravo75 View Post

      I've never been in a situation like that. Couldn't she have gone into neutral and gently hit the brake pedal?
      Exactly why I said "not the sharpest knife in the drawer".
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      When the Roads and Paths end, learn to guide yourself through the wilderness
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  • Profile picture of the author Don Schenk
    Originally Posted by bravo75 View Post

    ... Highway Patrol's headquarters in Jefferson City -- told her to do, including trying to shift the vehicle into neutral. The vehicle had a "proximity key," Lyon said, which allows someone to start the car without a real key when they're close enough to it.

    I read that in the article and wonder what having a proximity key has to do with not shifting the vehicle into neutral.

    :-Don
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    • Originally Posted by Don Schenk View Post

      I read that in the article and wonder what having a proximity key has to do with not shifting the vehicle into neutral.

      :-Don
      That is a good question...I think Kia's got sum 'splaining to do...
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  • Profile picture of the author garyv
    Just watched the video of it on YT... looked pretty scary.

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  • Profile picture of the author TheInternet
    Intelligence is no guarantee that you'll perform better than average when put in a high-pressure situation. It's easy to say you'd handle it better from the comfort of a safe place, but imagine yourself in the same situation.

    You're about to reach your turn, you let off the accelerator and apply the brakes. But nothing happens. Except you just missed your turn, and you see the speedometer go into triple digits.

    This is where any normal person will experience a cascade of freakout points:
    • You're accelerating
    • You just missed your turn
    • The brakes aren't slowing you down
    • You're racing toward a mobile wall of steel moving 50MPH slower than you

    Most people have no training for bringing themselves down in situations like this.
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    • Profile picture of the author JoeUK
      Wouldn't happen here in the U.K, we'd just push in the clutch
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      • Profile picture of the author garyv
        Originally Posted by JoeUK View Post

        Wouldn't happen here in the U.K, we'd just push in the clutch
        Or you'd just put your feet down...
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      • Originally Posted by JoeUK View Post

        Wouldn't happen here in the U.K, we'd just push in the clutch
        Reminds me of that old joke about the English car that didn't last too long, called the "Hurrey"* - the brakes would give out after the first few hundred miles...

        That's where the saying "I can't stop now! ...I'm in a Hurrey!" came from! :p








        *like Surrey
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  • Profile picture of the author alistair
    If that was here in the UK I'm sure that when she got out of the car they would have nicked her for using the phone while driving.
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  • Profile picture of the author Greg71
    The brakes still work even if the accelerator is stuck. Slam the brakes while using the other foot to unstick the accelerator.
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    • Profile picture of the author bravo75
      Originally Posted by Greg71 View Post

      The brakes still work even if the accelerator is stuck. Slam the brakes while using the other foot to unstick the accelerator.
      I don't think slamming the brakes would have been a good idea. Bringing the car down to a reasonable speed by gently pushing down the break pedal would have worked, though. Then she could have had a go at getting the accelerator unstuck.
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      • Profile picture of the author TheInternet
        Brakes work better when you don't have a 175 horsepower engine and a few thousand pounds of vehicle hurtling down the interstate working against you.
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