jasongetsdown t1_jdhxb53 wrote on March 24, 2023 at 2:54 PM

Sounds like a classic panic stomp on the gas thinking it’s the brake.

BAM521 t1_jdipk1f wrote on March 24, 2023 at 5:53 PM

If we had sane driving laws that prioritized pedestrian safety, accidentally hitting the gas when you meant to hit the brake would result in a automatic license suspension and a mandatory remedial driving course until you can prove that you do, in fact, know how to do the most basic thing we expect drivers to do.

But instead it’s just another oopsie that, fortunately, didn’t kill anyone this time.

jasongetsdown t1_jdj7oxg wrote on March 24, 2023 at 7:50 PM

The scary thing is that it’s something that can happen to anyone. It doesn’t really mean you’re a bad driver. It’s a slip of the foot and when the car doesn’t do what you expected a switch flips in your brain, you panic, reason goes out the window, and you double down on what your panicked mind thinks will help. There’s no chance you will pick up your foot in that moment.

You’re right, a panic response like this has killed people, but vilifying the driver doesn’t help. It’s also hard to see how a law would. This kind of thing is probably already covered by reckless driving or something similar, and if you actually wanted to create a law that targeted hitting the wrong pedal how would you prove it?

BAM521 t1_jdju6q0 wrote on March 24, 2023 at 10:24 PM

> There’s no chance you will pick up your foot in that moment

I don’t know, if we can teach people to turn into a skid, can we not teach them to pick up their foot in a sudden acceleration?

> This kind of thing is probably already covered by reckless driving or something similar, and if you actually wanted to create a law that targeted hitting the wrong pedal how would you prove it?

I mean, the signs are pretty easy to spot. And the thing is, I’m not sure this falls under aggressive driving. Would be happy to hear of a case that says otherwise, but it seems like these are generally treated as accidents.

I’m not saying throw the person in jail. But driving safely requires good reflexes, and an accidental acceleration suggests the driver’s reaction time is deteriorating. Maybe we have them take a test and they do fine, it was just a one time thing. Fair enough, give them the license back. But it would be nice if the system actually tried to proactively weed out bad drivers instead of waiting for the worst.

ScrappyHammer t1_jdl16pv wrote on March 25, 2023 at 4:08 AM

I'm fine with that, as long as they issue steep fines and make scofflaw pedestrians take a course on proper etiquette when they are caught walking into Central Sq on a "Don't Walk" signal when oncoming traffic has the green light.

baazaar131 t1_jdllbbt wrote on March 25, 2023 at 8:24 AM

There is no switch. It's just shitty drivers. Some people are just much better at driving than others.