'My gas pedal is stuck' BMW driver tells 911 as he barrels down interstate

[mirob]

Joyride gone wrong, attempt at fraud, or truly faulty vehicle?



'My gas pedal is stuck' BMW driver tells 911 as he barrels down interstate at nearly 100 mph

http://abcnews.go.com/US/gas-pedal-s...ry?id=53044686

A runaway BMW SUV tore down a Florida interstate for nearly 40 miles Monday, but the motorist managed to keep his cool while authorities made several attempts to stop him, telling a 911 dispatcher calmly "my gas pedal is stuck," according to the Florida Highway Patrol and dramatic recordings.

In a statement a BMW spokesperson called the scenario "implausible" and said there were numerous ways in which the driver could have stopped the car. "We would be happy to work with the Florida State Police to investigate the cause of this incident," the company added.

The driver, Joseph Cooper, was alone in his SUV on I-95 near Vero Beach just before 1 p.m. when he lost control, he told emergency dispatchers. Authorities helped control traffic as he careened as fast as 95 mph with a flashers and a green strobe on.

Asked if he could shift to neutral, he told the dispatcher, "I can't, ma'am, I tried that already. I'm trying to hold onto the wheel and talk to you at the same time."

He told the dispatcher he almost hit someone.

"Get out of the way!" he yelled, according to the recording.

When authorities tried to slow down the car using spiked stop sticks, Cooper avoided them, the highway patrol reported. The officials tossed out stop sticks again, blowing out the right two tires, which slowed the car down to about 60 mph, the highway patrol said.

Dashcam video released by the Fellsmere Police Department shows an officer deploying spike strips on the interstate in their third and final deployment of strips to try to stop the car. The BMW is seen going over the spike strips which hit the left two tires.

That slowed the car to 40 mph, but Cooper was still unable to stop. "The vehicle was traveling on all 4 rims with no tire," the highway patrol said.

Minutes later, the video shows the SUV coming to a complete stop, and as smoke surrounds the vehicle, the driver got out to talk to authorities.

At that point Cooper had traveled more than 40 miles. Miraculously, no one was injured, Lt. Alvaro Feola of the Florida Highway Patrol told ABC News.

Feola said Cooper made the right choices in the dangerous situation.

"He did call 911, he wore a seat belt, he kept the dispatch aware of the mile markers," Feola said.

"Thank God in this situation nobody got hurt," Feola added. "Traffic was maybe a little light, it wasn't rush hour."

The BMW spokesperson said in the statement that "BMW drivers have long been able to rely on integrated safety systems that help ensure safe operation of every BMW vehicle.

"All BMW vehicles, including the 2003 X5 described in this incident, employ an electronic accelerator pedal which uses software logic to override the accelerator whenever the brake pedal is pressed while driving. This fail-safe software means that if the vehicle detects that both pedals are depressed, the on-board electronics will reduce engine power so that the driver may stop safely.

"Furthermore, the accelerator pedal in BMW vehicles is hinged at the bottom, and mounts to the floor. Therefore an object or floor mat cannot slide under the accelerator pedal and jam it. Original BMW floor mats are custom-fitted for each vehicle, and are installed with anchors to keep them properly located in the front footwells of each vehicle.

"The vehicle could also have been stopped by two additional means: By placing the transmission in neutral and coasting to a stop and/or by shutting off the ignition without removing the key. This is accomplished by turning the key counterclockwise. The engine would have shut off and the driver could have safely coasted the vehicle to a stop."

[MightyMouseTech]

There is no such thing as a vehicle that can overpower its brakes. Period.

[IAmATeaf]

It does sound very implausible, logically he could have tried neutral, Park if auto and even switching it off but given how these things are controlled entirely by electronics, maybe, just maybe there is a possibility

As the previous post, any car at full chat will over power the brakes, have a go if you don’t believe it but you will end up with smoking brake pads and a glowing rotor/disc.

[1MOREMOD]

The key doesn't turn counterclockwise or at all for that matter

[MightyMouseTech]

Originally Posted by IAmATeaf

As the previous post, any car at full chat will over power the brakes, have a go if you don’t believe it but you will end up with smoking brake pads and a glowing rotor/disc.

No, absolutely not. If it were true, a car would be able to accelerate faster than it can come to a stop. There is no car in the world that can come even close to that.

Several car magazines have tested this thoroughly and it is not possible.

http://www.motortrend.com/news/unint...leration-test/

https://www.caranddriver.com/feature...d-acceleration

WOT actually makes only a slight difference in stopping distances.

[tracer bullet]

I can see a stuck pedal (carpet pushed over it, I've been a passenger in a car that this happened). I suppose maybe I could see an electronics issue. Totally agree that you can go into neutral or just push the brakes hard enough to stop the car. It's either a desperate attempt to reduce the speeding penalty, or just possibly a case of total stupidity.

[Psychotic Mouse]

Originally Posted by IAmATeaf

It does sound very implausible, logically he could have tried neutral, Park if auto and even switching it off but given how these things are controlled entirely by electronics, maybe, just maybe there is a possibility

As the previous post, any car at full chat will over power the brakes, have a go if you don’t believe it but you will end up with smoking brake pads and a glowing rotor/disc.

Switching off the ignition without removing the key is a fail safe. Even with fancy electronics that's the route I would take if all else failed (Or hitting the Stop-Start button in my case)

I suppose the worry is that people would then remove the key and lock the steering while coasting to a stop.....


Hmmmmm, I sense a You Tube video demonstrating what to do in this situation with multiple cars should be in order here.

[MightyMouseTech]

Another reason why everybody should drive a manual.

[Naz24]

Obvious this guy is a moron.

The 911 dispatcher asked him to put it in neutral. his response: "yeah i'm in a BMW if i push the shifter up it'll downshift"

Clearly he thought he was in Sport mode, or was actually in sport mode.

Stupidity like this that tarnishes brands is what makes my blood boil., And the moron reporters who use it as a ploy to make more news make my head explode.\


I had an e53 4.6is (which is what appears to be the car here), and i'll tell you, the chance of both the accelerator sticking AND the car not shifting in neutral is almost 0. that car would shift in neutral everytime my girlfriend pushed her purse over the center console

Most likely scenario, car repairs piling up, guy wants to make a statement so BMW sends him a check to settle and he goes away.

[Mavus]

uber only for this dude

[uniqueMR]

Driver need some

[mirob]

Doesn't say if he got off scot-free or not but if so...I'm using this as an excuse next time I'm pulled over for speeding.

[MalibuBimmer]

Reminds me of the 50s song about the guy in a jalopy eventually overtaking an expensive car and when he catches up asks the other driver how to get out of first gear.

[ShocknAwe]

I don't understand, did he call dispatch after he saw lights behind him, or did he call in saying he couldn't stop? This is so strange.

[aerostar]

Probably to get out of a ticket. Lol

[The HACK]

IF you're already up at speed, like HIGH speed, depressing the brake fully won't overpower the engine. Especially if you're past triple digit and have attempted to brake a few times as most normal people will do. Because the heat generated while attempting to slow or stop the car may cause the brake pads to "fade," dramatically lowering the ability of the brakes to stop the car. Same reason why you hear "don't ride your brakes" when descending a hill/mountain, the continuous application of brakes will overheat the pad/rotor/fluid to a point where they're useless.

Or if your brakes are not properly serviced and/or have lost hydraulic pressure.

The feature to cut engine power when brakes and throttle are applied at the same time was introduced in early 200x. We don't know for sure if said driver's X5 has the same feature, and if it does, it is implied that the throttle pedal and the brake pedal position sensor dictates the activation of said feature. BUT, if either the electronic throttle signal is stuck at open, or the mechanical part of the throttle is stuck at open, it may be possible that engine power wasn't cut back because the driver's foot isn't on the gas pedal. I'm not 100% certain how BMW's throttle/brake safety feature works, but you can't automatically assume driver error.

Back in 2002 timeframe when the off-duty police officer and his family was killed in a rental Lexus due to a stuck throttle in San Diego, that lead to an industry wide implementation of the brake/throttle safety feature, the veteran off-duty police officer struggled to find neutral too, despite years of training to remain calm in situations like this. You never know until it happens to you, what a run-away car situation is like, while dodging potential traffic and careening down the expressway out of control. And it's easy to say, "well why didn't you turn off the engine?" People get into a "deer in the headlight" mode and don't know how to do the most basic things sometimes.

We can sit here and Monday morning QB the situation, but the truth is, anyone sitting in front of a computer assuming that THEY know what to do in that situation is just plain wrong.

[MightyMouseTech]

Originally Posted by aerostar

Probably to get out of a ticket. Lol

Probably why he avoided the first spike strip.

[TheBobmanNH]

Originally Posted by The HACK

And it's easy to say, "well why didn't you turn off the engine?" People get into a "deer in the headlight" mode and don't know how to do the most basic things sometimes.

This is fine for the first ... maybe minute of an emergency. Half an hour? If you can't figure out one of a dozen things to try over HALF AN HOUR of your car being in this mode, everyone is completely justified mocking this dude.

We can sit here and Monday morning QB the situation, but the truth is, anyone sitting in front of a computer assuming that THEY know what to do in that situation is just plain wrong.

I 100% would give someone the benefit of the doubt in a quick-thinkng situation. Given the timeframe of this (he had time to CALL 911 AND TALK TO THEM ABOUT THE SITUATION), if you don't think you could handle this situation better than this person, you should not be driving.

[orangeglim]

Originally Posted by The HACK

IF you're already up at speed, like HIGH speed, depressing the brake fully won't overpower the engine. Especially if you're past triple digit and have attempted to brake a few times as most normal people will do.

The Car and Driver article linked above seems to indicate otherwise, even on a high powered 500+ HP Mustang doing triple digit speeds. The distance is greatly increased, but it still stops.

[The HACK]

Originally Posted by orangeglim

The Car and Driver article linked above seems to indicate otherwise, even on a high powered 500+ HP Mustang doing triple digit speeds. The distance is greatly increased, but it still stops.

The C&D article tests ONE SINGLE STOP of the car, likely with a fairly well maintained braking system. You can't make that assumption in this case, a 15 year old BMW can very well have worn brakes, or old brake fluid, or a slew of problems that prevents it from being able to overpower the brakes, or produce faded brakes much earlier.

I mean, I'm confident that all the brakes on my cars are in tip top shape, because I am diligent about maintaining my cars. But I am in the minority, even amongst the enthusiast community. The logical assumption here is actually to assume that the brakes aren't functioning at full capacity here.

Again, we're all reading into this case with way too much assumption. All we know is that the driver called 911, and had been going at high speed for a while. Let's say, his throttle IS stuck, and for some reason BMW's brake/gas pedal override for some reason isn't working. If the driver attempted to slow down or stop the car a few times already, and the car didn't come to a full stop allowing him to park and turn off the car? At that point a poorly maintained set of brakes would not have been able to overcome the engine's power.

As to the OTHER point about how said driver was driving for 40 minutes and any sane, capable person would have figured out how to turn off the car? The 2002 case with the Lexus I cited, was with a veteran police officer, someone who's used to dealing with adverse conditions, high stress environment, and trained to stay calm under duress. Him and his family were killed at the end of a 30 minute long nightmare when the Lexus he was driving at well in excess of triple digit speeds shot off of an unfinished off-ramp killing everyone in the car.

This was a SEASONED cop. Used to dealing with pressure. On the phone with dispatch. For over 30 minutes. At the end he had to attempt to drive the car off of a ramp rather than risk hitting other vehicles and risk someone else's life. Anyone who thinks THEY can behave calmly and remember exactly what to do in that situation? If this guy can't do it?

Now, granted, the case with the cop in the Lexus was a confluence of a perfect storm. It was a rental car he's not familiar with. The Lexus at the time has a really complicated shifter requiring pushing the stalk up and to the right to put into neutral. It had a start/stop button that requires 3 consecutive presses in succession while the vehicle is moving to cut fuel and spark. In hindsight we can say "oh well he should have done this or that," but in REALITY? Had *I* been in the car at the time? After the first 2-3 attempts at moving the shifter into neutral without success, I would have quickly moved onto other means of stopping the car. And if I was not familiar with the Lexus as with the officer? I wouldn't know to press the start-stop button 3 times in quick succession to turn off the engine either. I would have pressed the button, and MAYBE even hold down the button, in hopes that the engine would turn off. And if it didn't I would have moved on to something else.

For ANYONE who sits in front of a computer who thinks they can do better, I hope you never have to deal with it. Because you may think you know what to do. And maybe you do. But truth is, if you're not put into that situation, you never know how you will react.

And who knows what other extenuating circumstances were not reported. What if the brakes were bad? Lost hydraulic pressure? Mechanically stuck throttle instead of a stuck pedal? What if the front wheels were out of balance and at 90+ MPH it requires both hands on the steering wheel to keep it under control ('03 X5, again, 15 year old BMW)? What if the driver is unfamiliar with the car (like the officer in the rental Lexus)?

There are a ton of information we don't have here. For anyone to assume that it's pure driver's error...Again, I hope you NEVER have to be put in that situation, and IF you are, that YOU know what to do.

But I'm not going to go around calling people morons if they don't know what to do or didn't do it right.

[The HACK]

Originally Posted by Psychotic Mouse

Or hitting the Stop-Start button in my case

How many of you have actually tried this? Hitting the start/stop button while moving?

I have.

All it does is throw you a warning on the dash and chime angrily at you. On a BMW you need to HOLD DOWN the start/stop button for several seconds for it to realize you want the engine to shut-down.

If you're going triple digits unintentionally, and every second seems like an eternity because you're starting to freak out, would you remember to hold that button down until it turns off the engine, when the car's chiming angrily away at you to STOP PRESSING THAT DAMN BUTTON?

[Uber Commuter]

Originally Posted by The HACK

How many of you have actually tried this? Hitting the start/stop button while moving?

I have.

All it does is throw you a warning on the dash and chime angrily at you.

Try stabbing it repeatedly like you would in a panic situation. At the 3rd stab the car will shut off...