Car Explosion/Accident at Rainbow Bridge?

[Halifax Tar]

It made news in the US, but outside of NY state (obviously) it was more about the reactions to the various folks…uh…reacting.

Fair enough...maybe NS is the one not looking in that direction...

 

[KevinB]

It made news in the US, but outside of NY state (obviously) it was more about the reactions to the various folks…uh…reacting.

Was fairly big in the NOVA/DC area.

Mainly as initial reports were calling it a terrorist attack.

 

[Blackadder1916]

I was discussing this with a friend this morning. My thought is that with all the electronic stuff and computers on board now something is likely to mess up.

My initial thought was similar; that with greater reliance on "drive by wire", it's likely that any fault would be electronic. However, looking back at the earlier Bentley recall (which involved right hand drive vehicles) it wasn't the computers that caused the fault, but stuff getting in the way.

https://www.vehiclerecalls.gov.au/recalls/rec-001669

Due to inconsistent fitment of the fuse box and the electrical harness the A-post lower trim can protrude into the cabin reducing clearance to the accelerator pedal. If the accelerator pedal is fully pressed whilst driving and is unable to return to its resting position, the vehicle will continue to accelerate, even when the driver's foot is removed from the accelerator pedal.

I once experienced a similar stuck accelerator. But that was over forty years ago and it was a purely mechanical linkage problem. I was at St. Jean on the French language course and on Friday after class headed to Ottawa as per my routine (my then spouse was posted there). I accelerated from the on-ramp onto the autoroute into fairly heavy traffic, but when I eased back expecting to adjust to the speed of the rest, I just kept speeding up. Luckily, I was able to dodge around the other vehicles until I found a spot where I was able to turn off the ignition, shift into neutral and pull to the shoulder and stop. I did exceed 100 mph, but it was Quebec so my antics were probably not overly noticed by other drivers. What had happened was the linkage at the carburetor (the days before fuel injection) had stuck. I was able to fix it on the side of the road and continued on my journey.

 

[lenaitch]

I did exceed 100 mph, but it was Quebec so my antics were probably not overly noticed by other drivers. What had happened was the linkage at the carburetor (the days before fuel injection) had stuck. I was able to fix it on the side of the road and continued on my journey.

Sounds like pretty normal traffic maneuvering n Quebec.