Why the "Out of Control" Prius Driver Is Full of It

Agreed. But it sure does not help his credibility when the rest of his story just does not pass the sniff test.

 

I think a quick half-hour driving exam (road test) for everyone renewing their drivers license would be a good start... But then again, that's a whole different thread.

 

But then he had another BK in 1999. Repeat BK filers are fraud IMO.

 

It would be good if we got an official statement about his membership (former or otherwise) and ownership from the club itself.

FWIW, Corvette Forum - View Single Post - OMG! Are these ididots on the same roads with the rest of us? claims he was a former member. Ath 2:11 mark of the video at FOX40 Investigates: Internet Speculation Of Hoax Surrounds Prius Driver James Sikes - Pornography, Adult Personals, Toyota Prius, Bankruptcy - KTXL, they mention that the group told them "they're embarassed he couldn't stop his car".

 

Good point and very true. I was upside down on my own house in San Diego for about a year when real estate values hit bottom a couple years ago, now I'm back on the upside.

However, his real estate debt was reported to be $240k out of his $700k in debt, according to San Diego 10 News. That leaves $460k, which is an unfathomable amount of cash to owe on a bunch of toys and 12 different credit cards.

Besides, the "debt" part of his whole background is just one piece of the puzzle. This is a character who has made a multitude of publicly-known very poor decisions in his life, and I'm not talking about his early 20's either. I'm talking about his 50's and 60's when someone should have racked up enough experience in the game of hard knocks to avoid making those kind of mistakes. A real estate agent ought to know better than most people to purchase a home within their means and be able to tread water in a down market.

The more I ponder his story from every angle and read accounts from both sides of the tracks, the more I am convinced his ordeal was premeditated as a publicity stunt. Yes, a person with one or two skeletons in his closet might deserve the benefit of doubt. But Mr. Sikes has a whole garage full of skeletons. The sheer quantity of technical inconsistencies and non-technical circumstances makes it impossible for me to believe the story as nothing but premeditated. But that's just me (and several other thousand people who have commented on the story).

 

To many post I do not know if this was covered but he said he could not talk on the phone to the cops because he had to put both hands on the wheel. Then he said he tried to pull up on the gas pedal, come on really! He is a little over weight how is he going to reach down and even touch the gas pedal. Did he stop the car pull over to the side of the road open the door and bend over and pull on it?
Was this guy's grandson the balloon boy?

 

The DA is already going on similar circumstantial evidence with the threatened suit against Toyota. When you've already picked your side it's funny how easy it is to discount circumstantial evidence you don't like and embrace the stuff you do. I try to keep an open mind.

- D

 

Use the pedal on the left. It will stop your car every time - even if you're at full throttle. Shocking.

-Brad

 

"The Journal said three people familiar with the probe, whom it did not name, said Sikes' brakes didn't show wear consistent with having been applied at full force at high speeds for a long period. Instead, they may have been applied intermittently, the newspaper said."

The Associated Press: Report: Probe questions account of runaway Prius

 

Don't know if this was mentioned earlier, and I hate to admit seeing this show --

Inside Edition had tape of Sikes with another excuse for not shifting to Neutral: he was afraid of hitting Park.

Not only can't he keep his stories straight, he can't even remember which car he was in and how its shift lever is different.

 

He would have less credibility if there were other automotive 'dramas' in his past. But using bad financial decisions as a reason to skewer his statements on the sudden acceleration he claims to have experienced is a bit of a stretch.

It depends on the circumstances surrounding the BK filings. One for business followed by another for personal in this economy; he has quite a lot of company in the courthouse. On a national level, there is something like 17% who are out of work and looking (9.something%) or out of work and have given up looking for work (another 8 or 9%) for a total effective unemployment rate of 17 to 18%. If the UE benefits have lapsed, BK is usually the only alternative.

If it was a publicity stunt, what is Sikes going to gain from it? It is not like he has a reality TV series being shopped. Get Toyota Finance to write off whatever is owing on his Prius? Doubtful. They (Toyota Finance) routinely repo cars where the family has been hit with cancer treatments and are only 3 months behind.

Ironically, this debate wouldn't be happening if Toyota had an open data logging function in their cars. If the data logs were accessible, the log would tell the story and either Toyota or Sikes would be getting their just deserts.

 

If you are referring to the OC DA, I doubt he is basing his entire case on Sikes' experience. There are soo many more sudden acceleration episodes out there to put in the complaint. At this point, Sikes is 1 of what 10? Maybe more; I have lost track of how many sudden acceleration episodes have been complained about.

As far as ease of discounting evidence you don't like once you have picked your side, that goes for everyone participating in this thread - they have picked one side or another. And Toyota isn't helping matters any. See my earlier comment about a data logging function.

 

Oh my goodness!!!!!!

You mean Sikes' statement that "I was standing on the brake pedal" and "My brakes are almost burnt out" might not be true?!?!?!? The brakes were really only pressed intermittently?!?!!

The evidence is suggesting he was lying?!?!??!

My, what a surprising turn of events?!?!!!!!! Who would have guessed that??!?!!

 

Once again, having an open data log format would not change anything in this particular case. Having a deep log would help, because then you could perhaps go back 30 minutes and see what happened, but being able to openly look at the last 5 seconds isn't going to tell anyone anything.

Tom

 

No one is accusing Sikes of being intelligent, rational or having thought his plan through very well.

Most criminals who are caught are the dumb ones.

 

This was what I meant to say - an open and deep log. My bad.

 

The "bad financial decisions" reflect on his honesty as he has motive. As he has said in an email, he just wants Toyota to give him a new car (not sure what brand he wants). Former coworkers and former neighbors have weighed in on his honesty and ethics/lack of same. His thriving real estate business has 3 listings including a trailer there in Jacumba. He has a website that has no doubt seen a jump in hits.

And of course as we know, no auto manufacturer installs data recorders that could tell us what happened 30 minutes prior to the engine being turned off. They don't want to be sued by the ACLU. In Europe commercial trucks and buses get that kind of treatment, but not Audis!

 

You might be surprised at that one. How is the ACLU going to claim an invasion of privacy? If the data is under the custody of the owner and can only be retrieved under court order or to diagnose a mechanical failure the owner was complaining of (constructive authorization by the owner), the invasion of privacy argument starts to ring a bit on the hollow side.

 

I was wondering? The Prius was weaving and dodging through interstate traffic east on interstate 8, did anyone else call 911? If not, why not? The only wittness would be the driver and finally the officer that wittnessed the tail end of the run away event.

In the following video about 38 seconds into it before it shows the front left wheel there is a piece of plastic missing inside the car can anyone tell from where it is located on the Prius?


[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1P1V-DH4djw&feature=related"]CHP Officer Helps Stop Runaway Toyota Prius[/ame]


-zxit

 

Because a court order will often be against the will of the owner, many owners don't want the log there in the first place.