Monday, April 11, 2011

Mistaking the accelerator for the brake

There's a show on TV at the moment called 'Destroyed In Seconds' which is a showcase of exactly what its name implies. One of the staples of this program is cars running into store fronts, down steps, up lamp posts etc. In every case, the excuse given by the driver is that they mistook the accelerator for the brake.
I must admit I'm mystified by this. The pedals are in a different place, they're a different shape and size, and the back pressure is different on them. I'm honestly not sure how people can genuinely do this. In most of these cases, I reckon it's actually distraction. People think they've moved their foot to the brake when they haven't, then step on the gas. Even then I wonder how it's possible that they don't realise what's going on and swap to the brake.
Have you ever done this? And what was the cause?