Tag: runaway

Video: Runaway ghost-riding motorcycle wants to keep racing *Update

Filed under: Motorsports, Videos, Motorcycle

Ghost riding motorcycle at Daytona SuperSport race

Ghost-riding Daytona SuperSport motorcycle – Click above to watch the video after the break

Here’s something you don’t see everyday. We’re a little short on details – there’s no description provided and we didn’t watch the race live – but the video after the break appears to have been taken at the start of the second SuperSport race in Daytona, Florida, earlier in 2011.

Two riders collided in the middle of a turn, sending both to the ground, while a third bike was left riderless but with both wheels still on the ground. That happens often enough that there’s a term for it – ghost riding – but generally the machine only goes a few hundred feet before falling over or hitting something solid. Not so in this case.

Somehow, the ghost-ridden bike managed to stay upright long enough that it veered back onto the track, barely missing the race leader. Fortunately, nobody was seriously hurt in the incident… and it was all caught on tape.

Click past the break to watch the video… clearly, at least one bike was not ready to score a lowly DNF without putting up a proper fight. Thanks for the tip, Milan!

*UPDATE: Turns out this clip is from the 2011 World Superbike race at Donington Park in the UK.

[Source: Streetfire.net]

Continue reading Video: Runaway ghost-riding motorcycle wants to keep racing *Update

Video: Runaway ghost-riding motorcycle wants to keep racing *Update originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 06 Apr 2011 19:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Toyota to pay out $10M in Lexus runaway lawsuit

Filed under: Government/Legal, Recalls, Safety, Lexus, Toyota

Toyota SettlementAccording to The Detroit Free Press, Toyota has agreed to settle the case in which four people died in a runaway Lexus to the tune of $10 million. The crash, which occurred in August 2009, killed an off-duty police officer, his wife, brother-in-law and daughter and set off a torrent of recalls and investigations into just how long the Japanese automaker had known about unintended acceleration issues. In this case, the accelerator was trapped by the wrong-sized floor mat, but Toyota would later recall vehicles not only with similar issues, but with pedals that could stick as well.

Originally, both Toyota and the plaintiffs wanted to have the results of the settlement sealed, though Superior Court Judge Anthony Mohr decided that the public had a right to know the details of the case, and that right outweighed arguments from both sides. As with the two civil penalties that Toyota has paid to the federal government for failing to notify safety officials of the problems in a timely manner, Toyota has not admitted any wrong doing by settling the case.

[Source: The Detroit Free Press]

Report: Toyota to pay out $10M in Lexus runaway lawsuit originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 24 Dec 2010 10:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Honda recalling 383,000 vehicles over runaway risk

Filed under: Recalls, Safety, By the Numbers

Honda has announced plans to recall 383,000 Civics, Accords and Elements built in 2003 and 2004. Due to a fault with the ignition interlock system that normally prevents the key from being removed until the transmission lever is in Park, the affected Hondas could roll away on their own accord.

According to Honda, the interlock system can wear prematurely, allowing the key to be pulled regardless of the shifter position. If the parking pawl isn’t engaged, the vehicle can roll away if parked on a slope.

While this has nothing to do with the sort of problems that Toyota has experienced, there is an interesting parallel regarding the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s defect database. Toyota complained that there was insufficient detail in the database categories, resulting in the appearance that there were more incidents of unintended acceleration than there actually were. This Honda issue is purely a mechanical failure of the locking system and yet it is grouped under Electrical System:Ignition problems. This lack of detail makes it much more difficult and time consuming for engineers to sift through the data to find and prioritize issues to fix. As part of the follow-up to its recalls, Toyota has been talking to NHTSA about revising the database to make it easier to mine relevant information other automakers will likely be following suit.

[Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Honda]

Continue reading Honda recalling 383,000 vehicles over runaway risk

Honda recalling 383,000 vehicles over runaway risk originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 09 Aug 2010 16:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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