PDF file of the official CHP report on the Sikes affair

Thank you!

How quickly can brake pads be worn down?

Bob Wilson

 

Please read #84 post on the following thread:

http://priuschat.com/forums/prius-hybrid-news/77852-sikes-accelerator-braking-data-9.html

"Lyons also clarified Michels statement about the number of times Sikes must have hit the brakes and the accelerator. He said that the data showed that Sikes pressed and released the brakes 254 times, and did not show Sikes pressing on the accelerator, only that the throttle remained open throughout the incident."

 

One accelerator press held down and then repeated jamming of the brake pedal of would also explain the data - sort of what someone would do if they were trying to simulate SUA and an attempt to slow down the car.

 

Now how can a guy be ALL bad with a license tag of: FRUGL08???

 

The very least the CHP's could do is issue a speeding ticket for being stupid....

 

Lyons said "did not show Sikes pressing on the accelerator"!

 

Huh? There is no sensor that shows whether or not he is pressing on the accelerator as opposed to the accelerator being held on in some other way. So what exactly is your point?

 

Actually inspired by one of my favorite programs, Mythbusters. Once they demonstrate something is not as claimed, they then adjust the experimental conditions to replicate the results (GRINS). That is my favorite part of the program ... like bug bomb BOMB or the Hindenburg.

Bob Wilson

 

OK, so there is no sensor!

I thought Lynos mean the sensor read no application on the accelerator.

 

Most likely, it means he's just trying to be frugal with his gas money, not necessarily frugal with everything else (ahem...$700,000 debt). I think the license plate has no relevance to the issue, but it is a nice license plate!

 

Well the press is playing this one like a ping pong ball. San Diego News Tribune observe that the CHP believes his story and is portraying Mr. Sikes "sympathetically." Channel 10 News is headlining the fact that the CHP saw brake lights flashing.

Just as Toyota might not have seen the police report prior to their press statement, I think CHP has not paid one iota of attention to any of the technical findings so far. Either that, or the CHP doesn't understand them.

The police lights are on, but nobody's home!

 

There is a sensor, it just can't distinguish between someone stomping continuously on the pedal and it being stuck down. FWIW, many of us have programmed an x-gauge into our ScanGauges which displays the gas pedal position from 0 to 100, depending on how hard you depress it. This is not the same thing as the throttle opening position, so there is certainly a sensor there. Whether or not that type of data is available in an event log, I don't know.

 

Has anyone thought of the idea of him putting it in neutral for a few days and jamming on the brakes? IF he had been planning this out I would think you would do stuff to the car to help your story.

 

If the car is in neutral, what would jamming on the brake do?

 

Then its a different story. Lynos said "did not show Sikes pressing on the accelerator", i.e. he didn't press on the accelerator.

 

But if Sikes was continuously depressing the accelerator and then logged 254 on-off applications of the brake pedal, I would presume that the initial depression of the accelerator would drop off the log.

 

Ok now I think I see what your point is. You're saying that the above statement implies that the throttle opening sensor was reporting 100% while the accelerator position sensor was reporting 0%.

Honestly I think you are reading way too much into that statement to make this claim. That would be a very specific and very telling claim if true. So much so that I am certain they would have stated it explicitly rather than requiring that you "read between the lines" as I think you are doing. In my opinion all the statement is saying is that he did not repeatedly depress and release the accelerator.