Video: Runaway car tips help save life

After Toyota recalled 3.8 million vehicles last fall due to potential throttle "entrapment" that can equate to uncontrolled acceleration, our automotive engineers sought to find out the safest way to stop a car that is driving out of control at the Consumer Reports test track.

In our on-track simulations, we tried simply slamming on the brakes, but with the accelerator at wide-open throttle, we weren't able to come to a complete stop with every vehicle. And the natural tendency to pump the brakes leads to losing braking power, making things worse.

We determined that the best and safest way to stop a runaway car is to shift the car into neutral and firmly apply the brakes, safely steer to the side of the road, and then shut off the engine. (Read: "Putting a car in Neutral might save your life.")

According to ABC News, that advice proved to be life saving for Kevin Haggerty. Haggerty owns a 2007 Toyota Avalon and had experienced unintended acceleration, but his Toyota dealer couldn't figure out why it was happening. In late December 2009, Haggerty was driving to work on a busy New Jersey highway when his car began to accelerate and rev up to 65 mph. He tried the brake, but that didn't work, but then he remembered watching an ABC news report in which Consumer Reports demonstrated how to put the car in neutral and safely stop a vehicle. Haggerty tried it and it worked. Since then the Toyota dealership has replaced the gas pedal, throttle, and related sensors and Haggerty has not had another incident.

With yesterday's announcement of another Toyota recall, this time for sticky accelerator pedals, it's important for drivers to know how to protect themselves if they do experience unintended acceleration. While these cases are rare and can occur in any vehicle, we hope that if you are faced with this scenario, you can remain calm, remember our advice, and stop your vehicle safely.

—Liza Barth

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