Uninteneded Acceleration Trois?

[SuffolkD at aol.com]

The ultimate cure is NO POWER:
whether its (key) turn off ingition, shift out of gear/clutch  or depress the 
brake pedal in a properly working brake system.................. Shifting 
into park in an automatic at any real velocity will probably destroy your 
transmission parking pin before stopping the car.....................

Its true,  its easy for us to arm chair quarterback the driver about these 
unintended mishaps.........Nor am I looking for an excuse to justify their 
action's outcome.
Panic, fear and surprise usually overcome common sense and the ability to 
react in the appropriate CALCULATED manner.

That being said:  Even the most trained driver can errr when in a panic 
situation or caught off guard.
Education and training minimize these situations.........but the best 
technique is using your complete and undivided attention when moving or driving a car 
or vehicle....

So here's an FYI about some items I've seen/experienced first hand.

Dad's senior moment...foot on accelerator..stopped 20 feet later on top of a 
8" railroad tie. Oldsmobile.

Dad's pushing the clutch in instead of the brake and MY doing it 
twice........ Audi 4000/Q and 200.

1980 4000s whose cruise control would engage and top out at top speed ~97 MPH.
Never figured out the cause..........I thought it was cool.

1986 5000S auto whose dealer installed shift lock could be shifted without 
foot on brake.

A few other sticky throttle linkages which resulted in "high" idle until gas 
pedal was jabbed.......  Various makes.

1991 200 20V engine at start up, raced beyond 3000 RPM...........Squirrels 
stored acorns on top of the Intake Manifold and when the throttle cam was pulled 
back from throttle application (I always crack throttle when starting...I 
know you don't have to.....) the acorn rolled under the throttle cam to prevent 
throttle spring from closing / releasing.....  Not an issue on 5000/100/200 10V 
engines as engine layout is completely different.

So let's focus on this one here.......................
Say I didn't crack the throttle enough.......or go towards WOT............and 
made it onto the street, then merged onto a roadway where I could accelerate 
to 50 MPH or more........

WHEN was that acorn going to keep the throttle "on" at 3,000RPM?
Was I going to be prepared for it?

Every one with a 3B 200 20V pop your hood and look at the IM and throttle cam.
MAKE sure there aren't any acorns or other items that may catch you off guard 
someday.
Just food for thought.
-Scott by BOSTON
> Date: Sat, 20 Mar 2004 15:32:16 -0500
> From: "P.Dooley" <pdooley at gte.net
> Subject: RE: what's wrong with this picture?
> 
> I remember the Audi test driver taking a 5000 up to 60mph and slamming
> on the gas and brake pedal simultaneously.
> The car came to a screeching halt under full throttle.
> 
> That was all the data I needed to know unintended accel was driver
>