Please Read For Your Own Safety

Normally I'm not serious on here, but sometimes I feel the need to give a true Public Service message. I don't want you to do stupid things that will get you killed. I ran into this story on Autoblog. The accelerator on the woman's vehicle got stuck for whatever reason. At only 30 mph she and her son decided to jump out of the vehicle. A 53 year old woman is now dead from a very preventable accident because she paniced and didn't know what to do.

If you are in a car and it wants to accelerate for whatever reason please do the following:

1. Apply the brakes. No engine on a modern car will overpower the brakes.
2. Shift the car into Neutral. If you can't immediately brake (you're on a crowded interstate or road), then simply shift into Neutral. Use the forward momentum to steer your way to the side of the road. By keeping the engine in Neutral you'll still have power steering and brakes to assist you.
3. Turn off the ignition.
4. NEVER JUMP OUT OF THE VEHICLE. If you do crash into something you have seatbelts, airbags, and the crumple zones of the vehicle to provide safety. You will be hurt, but you'll likely still be alive. If you jump out of the car you can hit your head on the pavement or be run over by a the driver behind you. Your odds of survival are far higher inside a vehicle than outside of one.
5. Don't be afraid for the car. Most modern engines will bounce off the rev limiter a few times. If a engine is at redline for a time most engines will automatically shut down. Even if your engine doesn't have that feature and 'blows up' that is far preferable than you dying. Trashing an engine is bad. Trashing yourself is far worse.

Conversely if you lose your brakes do the following.

1. Use the transmission to slowly downshift one gear at a time. Even if you're driving an automatic just start using the 'L' or '1' or '2' gears that are listed. Work you way down into lower gears. The vehicle will start slowing down.
2. Once you're into the lowest gears, shift the engine into neutral and apply the Emergency/Parking Brake. Pull the brake handle, but keep the button on it depressed. The parking brakes should apply and slow you down. By keeping the button depressed the wheels shouldn't lock up. You don't want to lose control.
3. Turn off the engine.

I wish Driver Education was far better in the country than it is. I wish every time you had to renew your license they forced you to take the tests again. Be careful out there.