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1997 MERCURY VILLAGER — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

1 fatalcrash · 835207 · 2011-01-06

Vehicle

Make
MERCURY
Model
VILLAGER
Year
1997
Manufacturer
Ford Motor Company
Component
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Miles at failure
188,000
Speed
35 mph

Severity

Deaths
1
Injured
0
Fire
No
Crash
Yes
Police report
Yes
Medical attention
No
Vehicle towed
No

Narrative

DRIVER REPORTS HE MUST HAVE HAD HIS FOOT ON THE BRAKE AND ACCELERATOR AT THE SAME TIME (SEMI-PANIC BRAKE APPLICATION). POLICE REPORT STATES "TIRE MARKS" ON THE (DRY) PAVEMENT. ONE DOES NOT PRODUCE "TIRE MARKS" ON DRY PAVEMENT (NO TURNING INVOLVED) WITHOUT BRAKE APPLICATION. DRIVER HAD EPISODE OF MICROSLEEP: WHEN ALERTED BY THE EVENT TAKING PLACE, HE COULD NOT GET THE VEHICLE STOPPED IN TIME TO PREVENT HITTING AND FATALLY INJURING A PEDESTRIAN. UPON EXAMINATION OF ACCIDENT VEHICLE, INSPECTOR DISCOVERED UNUSUAL ARCHED ACCELERATOR PEDAL DESIGN WHEREIN THE BRAKE PEDAL WAS LOCATED ONLY 1 5/8 INCH FROM THE ARCHED ACCELERATOR PEDAL ALLOWING BRAKE APPLICATION AND ACCELERATION CONCURRENTLY IF CERTAIN CONDITIONS PREVAIL. EXAMINATION DEMONSTRATED THAT WHEN THE BRAKE PEDAL WAS DEPRESSED, THE PEDAL WENT SUBSTANTIALLY BELOW THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL. FURTHERMORE, WITH THE 4 5/8 INCH WIDE BOOT THE DRIVER (AND INSPECTOR) WORE, IT WAS EASY TO ACCIDENTALLY CATCH THE EDGE OF THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL, CONSEQUENTLY ENABLING THE USER TO ACCIDENTALLY DEPRESS THE ACCELERATOR AND BRAKE PEDAL (UNDER CERTAIN CONDITIONS) AT THE SAME TIME. *TR

Source

Authoritative
NHTSA ODI Flat-File Downloads
ODI Number
10374963
Machine
JSON-LD · Markdown