On 03/15/2010 06:14 PM, Jed Rothwell wrote: > This is off topic but it is related to technology, and to the latest > bruouhaha in the news. People have called into question the report > made by James Sikes that his Prius went out of control for several > miles. In the interest of disseminating technically accurate > information, here is a comment I made about that elsewhere: > > Sikes does seem suspicious but it is much too early to brand him a con > artist. I drive a Prius, but I am sorry to say there are credible > reports of the Prius running out of control. Most notably, Steve > Wozniak, the co-founder of Apple Computer, reported that his Prius > went out of control. However, the incident was nothing like what Sikes > reported. Quote: > > "Wozniak said he was surprised several months ago when his 2010 Toyota > Prius started accelerating on its own -- to as much as 97 mph -- when > he used cruise control to increase the vehicle's speed. He said he had > to tap the brakes to stop the car from accelerating." > > Wozniak is a superb engineer and one the most honest and decent people > in public life. I have no doubt he is telling the truth.
But Woz's description, as quoted here, is of a malfunctioning cruise control, which none the less responded to a tap on the brakes by "letting go", just as it's supposed to do. It could be something as simple as a failure of the cruise control's speed sensor. That is certainly *not* a case of a car "accelerating out of control", in any normal sense of the phrase "out of control"! Furthermore, a cruise control malfunction of that sort is probably the least dangerous form of "unintended acceleration", because it happens at the moment when you're engaging cruise, which is likely to occur at a moment when you are paying attention to the controls and are in a reasonably clear spot on the highway. When you're in a tight situation, heavy traffic, or dangerous conditions, you're probably not going to be engaging the cruise control. > > - Jed >
