I was just wondering, what is the safest (for you and the car) thing you can do in situation like this?
I have only had my Prius for a little over a week, but on the little gear selector, there is a "B", I believe that is a braking assist. I don't know how it works, as I have never used it nor have I read up on the whole thing as of yet.
Yes, "B" will slow the car faster than just shifting to "N". Since there is nothing between the seats I would grab the wheel and try to put my left foot on the break. In a real situation though it may be too hard to move the drivers legs out of the way so I would say shift to "B", hit the hazards and pull to the right. Not having the Emergency break in the center of the car has it's pluses and minuses. That would be a good way to slow the car but it's also a good way for your drunk friends to spin you out as well. I'm still getting used to the foot "E" break but I like it better.
I really think "grab the wheel and steer the car would be my first reaction". Then I'd think about stopping.
Yea, and also put the emergency lights on so that other people know something is wrong. But the hardest part with Prius is the breaking, and thats why I didn't include things like steering to the poll.
Sad but true, I was in a similar situation several years ago in an older vehicle. Lost power to the car, couldn't slam on the brakes, and was coming upon the back of traffic fast. I went onto the shoulder and intentioanlly into a gully. A one-car accident can be fixed without insurance involved. A multi-car chain-reaction is a whole other story. In the end, it's just a car. I will sacrifice my car to save my life and the lives of people in other cars (sorry, Priapus). [N] will disable acceleration. will not. If the driver's foot is on the accelerator, [N] is the only choice. In the event of a water landing, your seat cushion will NOT act as a flotation device.
Never turn power or ingnition switch off. Get control of steering first. Get foot of gas if it is pressing down. Turn four way flashers on. Prius has the B possition on the shift lever easy to access use it. When at a slow or almost stopped speed, stop the vehicle how ever you can safely, ie. push park button, drive car along guard rail, even rear ending a parked car at a very slow speed can be effective. In a situation like this safety is first cost and condition of the Prius is second.
1) Grab steering wheel. 2) Move driver's foot off accelerator if needed. 3) Select "B" 4) Turn on Emergency Flashers. 5) Steer to the side of the road if needed. 6) Press "P" (parking button) to make car come to a complete stop. 7) Leave car running. 8) Call for help.*** 9) Turn on all inside and outside lights. 10) Maintain comfortable air temperature in car. *** IF you know where the hospital is located, and know you can get the heart attack victim to the Emergency Room quicker than it would take an ambulance to respond to your location, by all means get them there ASAP! Chances of survival are significantly increased the sooner the victim arrives where they can get advanced treatment rather than rudimentary ambulance service (Advice from five doctors/interns). I live two blocks from UC Davis Medical Center - the primary trauma center for the Sacramento area - so I have a lot of doctors for neighbors . . . of course, Doc Evan, being our electronic neighbor, may also wish to give words of wisdom on how to handle a heart attack victim. Only after the car comes to a stop and help arrives for the driver are you are allowed to :blink: :angry: :wacko:
Hitting the power switch won't do anything if the car is still moving. Pointless option at that point. It's also more direct if you can step on the brake, after you move the driver's foot. Fiddling with N-B doesn't really directly stop the car.
For those with NAV... have you looked at your "Emergency" destination button recently? Good to remember it's there before you encounter such a situation.
quickly look around at my traffic situation WHILE grabbing the wheel the rest is really going to depend upon the traffic situation, but taking control of the vehicle is almost certainly the first thing to do, then "neutralize" the situation. I won't even speculate beyond that unless a very specific situation is described. There may be times when moving to the right is far more dangerous than slowly coming to a stop in the middle of the road. Even that statement is full of assumptions...
If you hold the power button for 4 or so seconds, it will go to Ig-On and neutral (or was it ACC?). Unfortunately, power steering is off in Ig-On, so it is better to go to Neutral. If the driver's foot is not on the accelerator or brake, and the car is moving over 25 MPH, then I could control the speed with CC. I have become quite good with that. I could also use B for quicker deceleration if neccesary.
Pull the eject cord under the seat and hope you don't get brained by the canopy as you careen upwards. Then, as you drift down hope that you don't come to a gentle landing right in the middle of the freeway. BTW, what DOES happen if you just hit "power" while the car's in operation? :huh: I assume nothing but I don't want to determine that empirically.
