Regardless of your issue with my terminology, it just seems like a safety issue if the brakes can’t overpower the acceleratkr. What if the accelerator got stuck?
Comment on They won't teach you this in Drivers Ed
grue@lemmy.world 7 months agoI feel like the brake should be able to override the gas though.
“Override” in the sense of pushing the brake pedal cancelling the accelerator input signal? No.
“Overpower” in the sense of the brakes being able to apply more force to stop the wheels from turning than the engine at full throttle is able to apply to keep them turning? Yes.
dingus@lemmy.world 7 months ago
grue@lemmy.world 7 months ago
Sorry, my tone was unintended: the part I meant to emphasize is that your brakes should be powerful enough to overpower the engine, even if it is stuck at full throttle. If they can’t, something is wrong with your brakes.
H4mi@lemm.ee 7 months ago
In most cars, the accelerator is easier to press down fully than the brake pedal. Apply the same force required to floor it to the brake pedal (or even double) and the car will go.
grue@lemmy.world 7 months ago
You’re not incorrect, but that’s the wrong comparison to make. If the car is accelerating out of control and you’re trying to stop it, you’re not going to press the brake as hard as you would the accelerator; you’re going to press the brake as hard as you can (which, unless you’re old and frail, is a lot harder).
dingus@lemmy.world 7 months ago
Ah you’re good. For whatever reason my weird brain was taking it to imply that the brakes may not necessarily be able to do that and was like wtf that seems dangerous.
SuperIce@lemmy.world 7 months ago
All cars from 2012 and newer actually have a brake-throttle override that cuts the accelerator signal if the brakes are being pressed due to the 2009 incidents with Toyota cars that had their accelerator pedals get stuck in floor mats.
SuperIce@lemmy.world 7 months ago
Actually, due to the 2009 incidents with Toyota accelerator pedals getting stuck, all modern (~2012+) cars cut the accelerator signal if the brakes are being pressed as a safety precaution (this is called brake-throttle override).
grue@lemmy.world 7 months ago
That’s true; Toyota needed the appearance of doing something to “fix” the “problem.” I’d argue that the feature was never actually necessary, though.
I also wouldn’t be surprised if, as those 2012+ vehicles age, the extra complexity ends up causing more problems (e.g. from failing switches cutting the accelerator signal when they shouldn’t) than it ever prevented.