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According to the local news here, on Wednesday, a 24 year old man tried to use his feet to stop his car after his brakes failed, in Roseville, Michigan. His brakes failed as he approached a red light, and he ran the light, striking two vehicles, while sticking his feet out to attempt to stop his car, but being unable to stop, he then struck two more vehicles at another intersection.

He was given a citation for reckless driving, and was driving on a suspended license. The real howler of the story is what follows:

Police Deputy Chief James Berlin said to the press, quote: "the man exhibited moronic decision making, and faces a court hearing next month".

:laughing::laughing::laughing: Apparently, moronic decision making is illegal in Roseville, Michigan. Guess I better avoid visiting there !!! :biggrin::biggrin:

Guess he never heard of:
Turning the key off - OR
Shifting into neutral or park - OR
Trying parking / emergency brake -


Moronic ........ :mur: :shocked: :confused3: Yep !

BKBrown said:

Guess he never heard of:
Turning the key off - OR
Shifting into neutral or park - OR
Trying parking / emergency brake -


Moronic ........ :mur: :shocked: :confused3: Yep !

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When I was learning to drive, I asked my dad what to do if my brakes failed, and he told me exactly what you suggested (turn off key, parking brake, etc) with one more caution:

"Hit something cheap...." :laughing::laughing::laughing:

sounds familiar,back in the day my 1962 f-85 busted a brake line but i was coasting into the stop.good thing no cars were coming

Back in the old days (before steering locks) turning off the key was the thing to do if the throttle stuck but with more modern cars, I wouldn't want to lose steering unless there was no other choice.

Even with a steering lock you can turn the car off. If you leave the vehicle in drive the key will not completely turn off and lock the steering.

This reminds me of the run away Toyotas. Why did they not just shut down? Ehh.

Chev said:

Even with a steering lock you can turn the car off. If you leave the vehicle in drive the key will not completely turn off and lock the steering.

This reminds me of the run away Toyotas. Why did they not just shut down? Ehh.

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That reminds me of the work truck I drove back in the mid 80's, our warehouse aquired a clapped out, severely rusted '77 F-100 4X4 with big holes in the front floorboards, we jokingly called it the "Flintmobile" :laughing::laughing:

There's a video of this.

CNN.com - Breaking News, U.S., World, Weather, Entertainment & Video News

Also seen it on the news, they said that the man said he knew he had no brakes but he just wanted to get home. :confused2: The also said he was sober at the time. :laughing:

If the guy knew ahead of time that he had no brakes ...... this wasn't a panic situation and he should have either figured out a way to stop before he started or not driven at all !!!!!

I once drove 350 miles on a Sunday (because nothing was open to get repairs and I had to be at work on Monday) using only the parking/emergency brake. Young, crazy, stupid, but very careful and I made it without a problem.

BKBrown said:

If the guy knew ahead of time that he had no brakes ...... this wasn't a panic situation and he should have either figured out a way to stop before he started or not driven at all !!!!!

I once drove 350 miles on a Sunday (because nothing was open to get repairs and I had to be at work on Monday) using only the parking/emergency brake. Young, crazy, stupid, but very careful and I made it without a problem.

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And you know what? I bet a lot of cars and trucks on the road have the parking/emergency brakes rusted so they don't work because people NEVER USE THEM. When is the last time you actually stepped on the parking brake pedal or pulled the lever to operate the brake? Yeah, right. I operate the ones in our vehicles 6 times a year to be sure the cable isn't frozen up.