Safe Speed Forums

a) I have had the throttle stick fully open, which while scary for about a second didn't mean crashing or much danger to anyone else, however it was in a Renault 4 which has manual gearbox, and no power anything. Use clutch to disengauge power and get to a safe place to stop (partially lift clutch if you need a little power) then turn off engine.

The cause was a frayed accellerator cable where the frayed cable snagged on it's housing in the throttle fully open position; trim off or bend back frayed bits, limp home and get a replacement cable. Oh it was so easy in the old days.

Looks like it isn't.

130mph driver who claimed car's throttle was jammed is arrested
By Nick Britten
(Filed: 20/06/2006)

A motorist who claimed he was trapped in his car driving at 130mph for 60 miles after the accelerator jammed has been arrested after investigators could find no fault with his vehicle.

Kevin Nicolle, 26, of Southsea, Hants, was arrested on suspicion of dangerous driving and perverting the course of justice following the high speed dash, which ended with his BMW 318 crashing into a roundabout. Yesterday he said the arrest was "ridiculous".

"The police seem to think I was joyriding. I was not. They claim there was nothing wrong with the car - then why did the engine blow up and why didn't the air bags come out? If the car was fine, the engine management should have cut off the fuel to the engine. There is no way I would have gone through that by choice. It was a nightmare and I feared for my life.

"I still can't believe they arrested me but I guess they had a job to do and had to investigate it. But for it to go this far is madness. They have destroyed the car so we can't get any more evidence. It's their word against mine."

Nicolle, a former lorry driver, was driving on the A1 near Catterick, North Yorks, in March when he said his accelerator got jammed to the floor, forcing the automatic car to go faster and faster.

He immediately telephoned the emergency services and his terrifying journey was followed by four police cars and a helicopter as he was forced to weave around vehicles.

At the time, he said that to begin with he was able to keep the R-reg car's speed down by pressing the brake, but when the brakes wore out he could do nothing. He said he was unable to put the car into neutral and did not want to turn the engine off in case the steering locked. He said: "I was terrified, hysterical and crying. It's a miracle I didn't collide with another vehicle or cause a pile-up because I had lots of close shaves with lorries and cars."

He travelled 60 miles in 26 minutes, before crashing near Worksop, Notts, escaping unhurt. However, two independent examinations on Nicolle's car, one for Nottinghamshire Police and one for BMW, found no mechanical defects.

Last night a spokesman for Nottinghamshire police said a man was arrested on May 24 in connection with a collision on Sunday March 5. "He has been released on police bail pending further inquiries."130mph

This is ridiculous. If he had chosen to drive at 130mph deliberately, why on earth would he phone the police himself during the crime and tell them where he was?

If the accelerator was jammed down by some loose object or snagged cable, it seems very likely that it would have come free during the crash. And how can they hope to proceed with a case where they have intentionally destroyed all the evidence? This does indeed suggest arse-covering by the police.

... and I guess that this wouldn't be the first time that rebooting a system has cleared a fault

This is ridiculous. If he had chosen to drive at 130mph deliberately, why on earth would he phone the police himself during the crime and tell them where he was?...

He travelled 60 miles in 26 minutes

The police seem to think I was joyriding. I was not. They claim there was nothing wrong with the car - then why did the engine blow up

…….. and why didn't the air bags come out? If the car was fine, the engine management should have cut off the fuel to the engine.

That’s an average speed of 138mph


That news to me


This from the person who “did not want to turn the engine off in case the steering locked”

I assure you that not all from Southsea are like that