How easy is it to stop a runaway Toyota?

The photo above shows a mechanic holding a Toyota accelerator pedal from a recent Toyota.

According to a CNN report on the Internet posted yesterday, it is easy to stop a Toyota with a stuck accelerator.

A recent report posted to the Internet by Time Magazine told a different story.

The three basic tasks are simply:

1. Shift the transmission to neutral

2. Turn off the ignition switch

3. Apply the brakes and pull over

These instructions would probably work fine for a calm, experienced driver familiar with the vehicle. Here are some things to consider:

What if the driver panicked when the vehicle suddenly began accelerating at full throttle?

A panicked driver would probably hit the brakes first. Brakes would barley slow a full-sized car accelerating at full power. The next reflex would be to pump the brakes, which would make things worse.

Shifting the transmission to neutral in a panic may not be that easy for many people. Pictured is the gear selector on a Toyota Venza. A panicked driver may not know how to shift into neutral immediately as the selector on many new vehicles can be a bid confusing especially if they haven’t driven that particular vehicle very often.

Turning off the ignition switch would be a good option if done before the vehicle reached high speed. However, with the engine off much more pressure would be needed to try to stop a rapidly accelerating car. Also, with the engine off, the car would be much harder to steer because power steering would be lost.