I have noticed lately that there are a lot of incidents of people hitting and injuring pedestrians with their cars, and blaming it on hitting the gas instead of the brake.
Is this a valid excuse? If you plow through a few school kids and say you hit the gas pedal and not the brake, should your actions be excused?
I think it's an argument for manual transmissions in the least.
Are the people doing using this "excuse" actually being absolved?
In my book, it would seem just like any other driving error that was error/incompetence and not drunkenness/recklessness (though details could certainly make it reckless)... Just like misjudging where the edge of the car is, or braking distance...
It's an error for which the driver is responsible. You don't have to have meant to do it in order to be responsible...
It's a valid explanation, but not an excuse.
Driver is still responsible for their actions.
SVreX hit the nail on the head. I tell my kids all the time, there's an explanation for everything, but excuses are few.
In the past that has been caused by the car being designed so that the pedals are offset from the normal position.
I've done it several times in old Shelby Cobras. Seems like that was an issue with Audis once upon a time.
bastomatic wrote: I have noticed lately that there are a lot of incidents of people hitting and injuring pedestrians with their cars, and blaming it on hitting the gas instead of the brake. I think it's an argument for manual transmissions in the least.
Ummm, I'm pretty sure that if I press harder on the gas pedal of my manual transmission car, it's going faster, not stopping.
And if I haven't already figured out that I am stepping on the gas, not the brake, I ain't never gonna think to put the clutch in.
carguy123 wrote: In the past that has been caused by the car being designed so that the pedals are offset from the normal position.
No it wasn't.
It was caused by the driver pushing the gas pedal.
SVreX wrote:carguy123 wrote: In the past that has been caused by the car being designed so that the pedals are offset from the normal position.No it wasn't. It was caused by the driver pushing the gas pedal.
Which was caused by the brake pedal not being in the proper place. When the pedals are offset you end up hitting the gas pedal when you wan to hit the brake pedal.
Duke wrote: Ummm, I'm pretty sure that if I press harder on the gas pedal of my manual transmission car, it's going faster, not stopping. And if I haven't already figured out that I am stepping on the gas, not the brake, I ain't *never* gonna think to put the clutch in.
Many of these occur from a stop. Either your foot will be on clutch, or the trans would be in neutral. Either way no harm done.
And if you're rolling already, your manual trans won't automatically downshift if you floor it.
I have not seen any people charged with a crime from these scenarios in my reading, that's why I thought I would bring it up. Most seem to occur in urban areas, obviously.There was that cabby in NYC recently who dismembered a young tourist. They may have charged him eventually,don't know.
"It was an accident" is used way too much in this country to absolve people from blame.
carguy123 wrote:SVreX wrote:Which was caused by the brake pedal not being in the proper place. When the pedals are offset you end up hitting the gas pedal when you wan to hit the brake pedal.carguy123 wrote: In the past that has been caused by the car being designed so that the pedals are offset from the normal position.No it wasn't. It was caused by the driver pushing the gas pedal.
Sorry.
There is no such thing as a "proper place".
There are millions of vehicles with very different control placement. As an equipment operator, I am VERY aware of this. You gonna sue every right hand drive manufacturer in the world?
It doesn't matter if the designers reverse the pedal placement, make you pull instead of push, or control it with your ears.
It is ALWAYS the responsibility of the driver to know the vehicle and properly control it. PERIOD.
In reply to bastomatic:
You asked if it was a valid excuse. I said it was a reasonable explanation, but did not diminish responsibility.
You didn't mention crime.
An accident is frequently not a crime. But the responsibility is still there.
Negligence still maintains responsibility.
Authorities may not want to clog the courts with criminal charges for something they know will be diminished or dismissed in court. It just makes their primary work harder (getting convictions for willful or wanton disregard for safety).
I guarantee there is still an insurance payout (which may not be an admission of guilt, but is at least an acceptance of responsibility).
funny you mention manual transmissions. My friends (all autodrivers) have asked me at one time or another how I can always hit the clutch pedal like I do without missing.
Makes me shake my head to even consider that question
So if u hit the mayor of nyc it wouldnt be illegal?
distraction and or inattentive 
DrBoost wrote: I tell my kids all the time, there's an explanation for everything, but excuses are few.
Did you tell them there's an explanation for locking yourself in the garage and peeing yourself when you saw a spider? 
In reply to bastomatic:
I equate it to forgetting how to walk or speak--sans any neuro issues. It's a bunk excuse.
In reply to bastomatic:
It's almost weekly in NYC. Part of the problem is that no one has ever received a summons related to an accident. Traffic enforcement of any type is practically nonexistent here except for revenue generating parking tickets. 20 over on a surface street is common, along with making turns from any lane you want. The only time anyone really gets a ticket after an accident here is with a DWI. There is a program now to put speed cameras in school zones. As much as I hate to see them on a highway, they wouldn't even think about spending the money on them in the city if people could figure out how to stay off the damn sidewalk.
http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20130619/east-village/eight-injured-after-car-jumps-curb-east-village
http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Woman-Hit-Taxi-Accident-Midtown-Fire-Police-220360641.html
In reply to Wally:
Yeah, to be honest all the stories I remember are from NYC come to think of it. Wonder if a lawyer has ever recommended using it as defense when it wasn't actually the case. Might be hard to disprove.
they do not even issue tickets in the case of an accident? I think I know where I am doing all my asshattery now
I've mashed a gas pedal or two Ni my time. Does take deliberate thought to recognize the mistake and to make the correction. Which if you were already stopping shot becomes even more exciting.
More, I keep watching people refusing to use their brakes, swerving onto the shoulder or into adjacent/oncoming traffic. Making for a much worse situation.
foxtrapper wrote: More, I keep watching people refusing to use their brakes, swerving onto the shoulder or into adjacent/oncoming traffic. Making for a much worse situation.
I find they are more likely to use the horn, as if it sets up an startrek like forcefield to protect them from the other cars
I have seen people who just scream and cover their eyes in an emergency, they just stop any kind of control input. I had to lean over and yank the steering wheel to the left in a big Pontiac wagon because of that. 
Once upon a time in the dark ages, there were cars built with the gas pedal between the brake and clutch pedal.
Now that could get confusing.
Just think of all those V6 Toyota Camry's that are out there being driven by 80+yo grannies. Hit the wrong pedal and you are a missile as you press harder on the brake to stop the thing as it careens down the sidewalk. Do you think that the local police would ever charge her in such a situation?
In reply to Wally:
Damn even in the chaos that is Detroit(and surrounding area) traffic, that wouldn't fly. I've been passed on highways by people doing twice the limit, while I was only doing 85 in the 55, but they do it right at least.
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