More than a few readers were surprised when our tests proved that a car’s brakes may not be enough to stop a car with a stuck throttle while traveling at highway speeds. A horrific fatal crash in Southern California last August drew attention to the possibility that a misplaced floor-mat could jam a car’s throttle down. Other culprits can cause the same problem, including a stuck cable or linkage or malfunctioning throttle body. Whatever the cause of runaway acceleration, there’s a simple solution that could save your life.

Here’s all you have to do:

1. Move the transmission to Neutral.
2. Use the brakes to come to a stop safely on the side (or off) the road
3. Shut off the engine with the transmission in Neutral
4. Put the car into Park

Most people who own cars with an automatic transmission have never had a reason to select Neutral, and some modern gear selectors are unconventional enough to cause confusion. (Try it with a new BMW or Mercedes-Benz!) A life-or-death situation might not be the best time to figure out how to do it.

Learn how
In a large empty parking lot or other safe area, practice sliding your gear lever into Neutral while driving at a low speed. That way, you will know how to handle a stuck-throttle emergency if one should ever arise. If the police officer whose Lexus ran out of control and burned last August had thought to slip the transmission into Neutral, the chances are that he and his family would have survived.

Engine shut-down is a worse choice
Shutting off the engine during an uncontrollable acceleration is another option, but we recommend against that. First, killing the engine will not allow you to slow down any sooner than shifting to Neutral will. Second, you can lose power steering assist, making the car difficult to control. And finally, if you should manage to turn the key all the way off, that could lock the steering wheel mechanism, making a safe stop all but impossible.

Bottom line
By practicing how to shift into Neutral and even how to make a panic, ABS-actuating stop, you will be better prepared for a scenario you will hopefully never face. But if you do, hopefully you can remain calm and stop the vehicle safely.

—Jake Fisher

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