You have probably already heard a lot on the topic of the recalls to sticky gas pedal vehicles. A buddy sent an e-mail out that I thought I would share. It talks about what to do if you are in a vehicle where the gas pedal gets stuck.

Team, I was browsing my March 2010 CAR AND DRIVER magazine and I came across an article titled “Runaway Toyotas”. In the article, they test 3 different vehicles: a Toyota V-6 Camry (a recalled vehicle), an Infinity G37, and 540hp Roush Stage 3 Ford Mustang. Engine horsepower ranged from 268 – 540 horses. The idea was to see what techniques can be employed to stop each of these vehicles normally and again with a simulated stuck throttle. If you find yourself in a runaway situation, try to remain calm and employ one or a combination of the following techniques.

1. The best choice to stopping a runaway car is put it in NEUTRAL or PARK. Automatic transmissions have a device called a park pawl which will prevent the wheels from locking while at speed. The last thing you should worry about is damaging the transmission.

2. In a panic situation, the natural response is to hit the brakes. During this test at full throttle, the brakes of the Toyota, Infinity & the Ford were strong enough to bring those vehicles to a halt. The braking distance obviously was increased compared to the braking distance in a normal situation. The Infinity has electronic throttle software that cuts power to the engine whenever the brakes are applied. This allowed the car to stop in approx 10 feet further than a normal braking situation. You may need to use BOTH feet when you apply the brakes.

3. Kill the ignition. This will shut down the engine but you will also lose power boost to your brakes and power steering.

In addition to this article, GOOD MORNING AMERICA, on 4 Feb, did a piece on some of these same techniques.