Authorities: Prius seen with flashing brake lights (maybe he didn't fake a runaway?)

[Omaha Steve]

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_RUNAWAY_PRIUS_CALIF?SITE=TXBEA&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

Mar 17, 8:19 PM EDT

Authorities: Prius seen with flashing brake lights

By ELLIOT SPAGAT
Associated Press Writer

EL CAJON, Calif. (AP) -- A California Highway Patrol report released Wednesday said an officer saw brake lights flashing after arriving to help slow a speeding Toyota Prius on a Southern California freeway.

The lights were on "for a period of time and would turn off, indicating the driver was possibly pumping the brakes," CHP Officer Todd Neibert wrote in his seven-page incident report.

"I was within 1/4 mile of the vehicle and could smell the heated brakes which indicated they had been used extensively," it states.

The report offered some new details and dozens of photos about events that occurred after driver Jim Sikes called 911 on March 8 to say his gas pedal got stuck on a San Diego-area freeway.

However, it did nothing to clarify the wildly divergent versions of events from Sikes and Toyota Motor Corp.

Neibert also wrote that a Border Patrol agent in an unmarked vehicle with emergency lights flashing was trying to help guide the Toyota to safety. The report didn't say how long the Border Patrol agent had been tracking the Prius in the Chevrolet Tahoe.

FULL story at link.

[hex29a]

1. That's entirely consistent with the actions of someone trying to burn up the brakes without actually

trying to stop. It's evidence the guy was faking the 'incident'.
Thanks for the info.

[Omaha Steve]

2. Right

Right off the Toyota PR sheet. One of the rumors out there on the "internets" is Toyota has PR people posting in public forums. HHHMMM.

[harkadog]

3. Would you be the one who started the rumor?

This California driver was a fraud and I hope he is charged for a fake 911 call or whatever else they can get him with.

[hex29a]

22. Far be it from me to discourage you from educating yourself using internet rumors.

I'm sure they are 100% reliable.

[vadawg]

4. yup i got no idea if he was faking or not, but its not hard to burn your brakes up

by doing exactly what you are saying, if i saw the guys lights doing this i could think he was pumping the brakes to get them to work or trying to burn them out, either one would give the same effect... :shrug:

[Atman]

5. Except for that your own company, hex, says that the brakes disengage the accelerator...

Or maybe they don't...this guy was obviously very skilled at pumping the brakes just enough to turn on the brake lights and burn up his brakes without actually having your "fail-safe" accelerator override kick in. Amazing! Tell your bosses they need to tighten up their story line.

.

[hex29a]

20. I don't have any bosses, I'm a self employed engineer.

And I resent the implication.

[shraby]

6. That's also indicative of someone trying not to catch

his brakes on fire or burning them out.

[Canuckistanian]

9. Exactly. This guy was willing to sacrifice his brakes

In order to make it look like he was "trying to stop".

In reality, he had one foot on the gas and one foot on the brakes, pushing hard on BOTH.

[nadinbrzezinski]

12. Which according to Toyota should have engaged the braking system

and it did not.

Now a software glitch would do this.

Keep trying and defending a corporation.

[Tesha]

15. The Prius knows how hard the brake pedal is being pressed.

It's unlikely that it closes the throttle merely because the
brake lights are lit; it probably takes more force on the brake
pedal than that.

Tesha

[rbixby]

17. 29 posts and a toyota apologist? Hmmm...I smell a rat

[hex29a]

18. I was not apologizing for anybody, I merely commented on an automotive fact.

Sorry if you believe I had some agenda...other than being a satisfied Toyota owner, I don't take orders from a-n-y-o-n-e period. Not from Toyota and not from Toyota haters.

[Schema Thing]

7. how the hell would this in any way shape or form lessen the likelyhood of fraud??

[divideandconquer]

8. C'mon, Toyota desperately needs this to be fraud, Give a zaibatsu a chance!

What if Toyota can't fix these cars?

[slampoet]

10. I can turn the brake light on and still accelerate . I've done it in a dozen different cars.

Sometimes it is the only way to get SERIOUS tailgaters to back away from you.

[Name removed]

11. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Name removed]

13. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[HopeHoops]

14. Probably both. Japanese car buyers will defend them at all cost to justify the purchase.

Face it - Toyota's have a fucked up computer system and Toyota has no idea how to fix it. How's that silly little placebo shim working out? Not so well I see. Just admit you bought a lemon and don't make the mistake of buying another Toyota. Funny that Toyota will spend amazing amounts of money on PR and discrediting people who have suffered from Toyota's incompetence but they can't seem to put the resources into actually correcting the problem.

Next up: The little old lady in NY WANTED to crash her Prius into a stone wall.

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

16. Brakes lights do not equal application of brakes.

I am not commenting on any of the particulars here or taking any side.

Just a public service announcement for clarity's sake that brakes lights come on before the brakes are engaged. That is by design... they serve a warning function. The slightest pressure turns on the light. Heavier pressure begins to engage the actual brakes.

That is what makes highway driving behind nervous drivers so nerve-wracking. Some keep tapping the brake pedal lightly in anticipation of perhaps having to brake.

Back to your discussion.

:hi:

[ShortnFiery]

19. Yes, but another American's LIFE is ruined by a corporation and their whores in the M$M. eom

[Lex87]

21. Hard to say..

A person faking a runaway might fake braking attempts too.. This doesn't mean much either way.. ?

It is a bit ironic that Toyota is suddenly the car to own if you want to go for a scott-free joy ride.. Haha!

[TexasObserver]

23. If the Toyota Prius is built as Toyota claims, that wouldn't have been possible.

It's amusing to see the contortions of those who want to find Toyota blameless. Hundreds of cases of Toyotas suddenly going full out on their own, with dozens of known deaths, but the Toyota defenders hide from that truth.

The lame excuses from Toyota and its defenders sound like the nonsense we hear from every major auto manufacturer faced with numerous horrific death cases resulting from poorly designed cars.

Stats from January 2005 through August 2009 on model years 2005-2010 show that Toyotas were 12 times as likely to have such incidents as their competitor, Nissan.

12 times. That's 1200% x Nissan's incidents.

I don't know if the guy driving that particular Toyota is telling the truth, but I know for a fact that Toyota cannot be trusted to tell the truth, and that's something no Toyota defender can deny with a straight face.

[grantcart]

24. three points

1) If you were going to stage a 'runaway' event you could not in your wildest dreams find a safer place to do it. This remote four lane freeway is very light on traffic and adds a third lane going uphill.

Fortunately for the driver it didn't occur on a surface street, congested free way or even on the downhill slope of the freeway.

2) The police report that the Prius excellerated to 85 to 90 MPH. The average on this highway, except in a few really steep inclines.

3) San Diego was the scene of the most horrific of the earlier crashes where a 4 member family of a police officer died when there was an acceleraion and it went over the cliff. In that case the car also had previous complaints that went without a response. The acceleration resulting in a fatal crash followed other minor and brief incidents.

If you remember a few years ago when someone tampered with Tylenol several copycats responded hoping to cash in.

If someone was going to copycat that accident it is not surprising that it would happen in San Diego where media stories on the original crash were in the hundreds and it is not surprising that it would be staged on the East 8 going up hill in a remote area (the fact that it is in an area where the Border Patrol are gives you a hint).

I find the circumstances and this guys background suspicious. If it happened I would need to see scientific proof, I would not trust this guy.