In a real-life version of the movie Speed, Frank Lecerf was forced to drive at top speed when his Renault Laguna, which was adapted for disabled drivers, went out of control. While running an errand in his home town of Pont-de-Metz, France, Lecerf found that any tap on his brakes made the car speed up -up to 125 mph!
While uncontrollably speeding through the fast lane as other cars swerved out of his way, he managed to call emergency services who immediately dispatched a platoon of police cars.
Realising Lecerf had no choice but to keep racing along until his petrol ran out, they escorted him at high speed across almost 125 miles of French motorway, past Calais and Dunkirk, and over the Belgian border.
Puzzled motorists gave way as the high-speed convoy approached. Three toll stations were warned to raise their barriers as Lecerf ploughed through. After about an hour, his petrol tank spluttered empty and he managed to swerve into a ditch in Alveringem in Belgium, about 125 miles from his home, in Pont-de-Metz, near the northern French city of Amiens.
"My life flashed before me," he told Le Courrier picard. "I just wanted it to stop." He was unhurt but had two epileptic seizures.
Lecerf was connected to a Renault engineer during the ordeal, but nothing they tried slowed the vehicle. There is no word yet on why the car accelerated out of control. Link
Or take the brick off of the accelerator pedal?
The problem is that with all the drive-by-wire digital technology they've forgotten the one thing that can stop every machine: main switch. Analog, simple mechanical switch that turns ALL the power off even if it damages the machine. The three rules of robotics are simply forgotten, the machine can die if it means a humanbeing stays alive. That was the first thing i complained when i saw the first keyless car; what if you need to shut it down and the system is unresponsive, the lack of main switch is just baffling.. The cost of the part and wiring is in tens of euros or less. The cost of control units, both hardware and software, sensors, wiring etc is in thousands.
We equip heavy machinery with emergency off switches. Dumb idea to have an assistive car that you can't shut off.
Although it may sound unfair, a lot of people who suffer from epilepsy are not allowed to drive. I worked with a girl who had a seizure while driving. Fortunately, she didn't hit anybody, but she did crack up the company car.