Vehicle explodes on US Canadian border

[savoloysam]

My accelerator stuck once while on the motorway. It was pretty fucking scary. My immediate thought was to take it out of gear. Then I thought the engine was going to blow. Luckily it was quite late at night and there wasn't many cars about so I was able turn the ignition off and coast over to the hard shoulder.

I've had quite a few close calls in my time. I consider myself pretty fucking lucky to still be alive.

 

[spitfire]

Not sure pressing the brakes once airborne would help.

And why would pressing the brakes produce a trail of dark vapour?

You see it on F1 cars quite a lot, the brake discs shed dust when they are under severe pressure from the calipers.

 

[Dogsauce]

Not sure pressing the brakes once airborne would help.

And why would pressing the brakes produce a trail of dark vapour?

Smoking tyres/brakes from trying to brake before it took off?

 

[Dogsauce]

Kind of surprising that such a high-class brand of vehicle could have such a basic and critical problem with the accelerator. Or did the owner not get that problem looked at, despite being apparently wealthy enough to own and operate a Bentley?

Sometimes cars have a little niggle or something not right and it’s not worth the hassle of sorting it out, as much as the cost. Sometimes faults are intermittent or just go away, or you just wait it out to see what is happening before deciding to get it looked at. Wealthy people often value their time quite highly, so in some ways may be less likely to go out of there way to get something dealt with that they might not perceive as serious (yet).

 

[Magnus McGinty]

And why would pressing the brakes produce a trail of dark vapour?

Shitting himself?

 

[kenny g]

Worth remembering two people died in this incident.They were real people, rock fans.

 

[kalmatthew]

Vincent A. Ettari, a civil engineer in Westchester County, N.Y., who serves as an expert witness on road design in court cases, said that a trail of dark vapor visible behind the car as it flew through the air in surveillance footage suggested that the driver was alert and not impaired, and that he had been pressing on the brakes.

https://archive.is/tHtzE

This is an intresting comment. A civil engineer specialising in road design isn't the sort of expert I'd expect to be offering an opinion on the failure mode of a car. If the road had failed and caused the issue sure ask a civil engineer but a mechanical engineer preferably an automotive engineer or a forensic specialist feel like the right person to be offering this sort of opinion.

 

[Ax^]

Worth remembering two people died in this incident.They were real people, rock fans.

kiss fan but aye

withstanding that

the gas pedal on my car is sticking best take it to a gig in canada

 

[WouldBe]

the gas pedal on my car is sticking best take it to a gig in canada

If it does then either
a) hit the clutch as well as the brakes.
b) knock it into neutral.
c) turn the engine off.

 

[Ax^]

see american don't tend to do manual cars

so in that situation your be completely fooked

maybe knock into neutral would help

knock the engine off would cause you to lose power steering and it would lock not the best if you doing 110 miles an hour

 

[Yuwipi Woman]

I had a car that tried to kill me. The accelerator didn't stick. It was some weird thing with the timing chain where it would shift into a higher gear and not shift down again. The first time it happened I chalked it up to a fluke. The second time, I took it to a mechanic, and he checked it over and said it was ok. It had been a good car for almost 20 years, so I didn't want to get rid of it. I also didn't want some unsuspecting person to buy it. The third time, it tried to drag me through a red light with me standing on the brake. I was finally able to get a mechanic to listen to me and he found the problem and fixed it.

What the mechanic told me to do was to put it into neutral and coast to a stop. On some cars, turning the ignition off, also shuts power off to the brakes and power steering.

 

[WouldBe]

see american don't tend to do manual cars

so in that situation your be completely fooked

maybe knock into neutral would help

knock the engine off would cause you to lose power steering and it would lock not the best if you doing 110 miles an hour

I'd be trying something well before it hit 110mph

 

[Serge Forward]

I had a car that tried to kill me. The accelerator didn't stick. It was some weird thing with the timing chain where it would shift into a higher gear and not shift down again. The first time it happened I chalked it up to a fluke. The second time, I took it to a mechanic, and he checked it over and said it was ok. It had been a good car for almost 20 years, so I didn't want to get rid of it. I also didn't want some unsuspecting person to buy it. The third time, it tried to drag me through a red light with me standing on the brake. I was finally able to get a mechanic to listen to me and he found the problem and fixed it.

What he told me to do was to put it into neutral and coast to a stop. On some cars, turning the ignition off, also shuts power off to the brakes.

Wait a minute, I've read this one before...

 

[spitfire]

I'd be trying something well before it hit 110mph

You might not have as long as you think, these things are stupidly fast.

0-80 km/h (sec):	2.4
0-100 km/h (sec):	3.4
0-160 km/h (sec):	7.6

Detailed specs review of 2022 Bentley Continental GT Speed Coupe model for Europe North America Australia China Asia worldwide

Specs datasheet with technical data and performance data plus an analysis of the direct market competition of Bentley Continental GT Speed Coupe in 2022, the model with 2-door fastback coupe body and W-12 5952 cm3 / 363.5 cui, 484.6 kW / 659 PS / 650 hp (ECE) of power, 900 Nm / 664 lb-ft of...

www.automobile-catalog.com

That's from a standing start so if you were barreling along at 55mph or whatever you'd have maybe 3 seconds to react? 2 of which would be your brain denying what was happening, 1 second of sheer panic and then...

 

[NoXion]

I'd be trying something well before it hit 110mph

The Bentley Flying Spur goes 0-60 from a standing start in 3.7 seconds. Probably less if you're already rolling. That doesn't seem like a hell of a lot of time to realise what's wrong and then find a solution that works, especially since you might be panicking at the time. If you're driving something more sedate like a VW Golf GTE, then you'd get 6.7 seconds, which still isn't a great deal of time IMO.

 

[petee]

see american don't tend to do manual cars

it's true, and i only feel comfortable with a stick, which limits my choices, not that i'm in the market just now.

 

[Ax^]

ah they are slowly killing the manual in the UK as well

 

[WouldBe]

ah they are slowly killing the manual in the UK as well

That's bound to happen as cars go over to hybrid / all electric.

 

[Ax^]

That's bound to happen as cars go over to hybrid / all electric.

been happening for the last 15 years it consumer choice not just down to electronic cara

 

[SpookyFrank]

Kind of surprising that such a high-class brand of vehicle could have such a basic and critical problem with the accelerator.

'Expensive' and 'good' are two very different things.

 

[NoXion]

'Expensive' and 'good' are two very different things.

True, however the kind of folks who would buy a Bentley would seem more likely to litigate effectively should things go wrong.

 

[Ax^]

hmm did not help that guy who skoda crashed on the m40

Skoda driver decapitated after claiming car's cruise control was stuck.

Vw is a massive company and the bentley spur is a british hand built car based around a VW model

Regardless this could of be avoid if as anyone with sense should not if the break or the loud paddle are broken on your car

drive something else ffs

 

[kenny g]

hmm did not help that guy who skoda crashed on the m40

Skoda driver decapitated after claiming car's cruise control was stuck.

Vw is a massive company and the bentley spur is a british hand built car based around a VW model

Regardless this could of be avoid if as anyone with sense should not if the break or the loud paddle are broken on your car

drive something else ffs

I'm a nervous driver at the best of times but that kind of thing doesn't help. Putting the handbrake on at 100 mph would be quite an experience