What to do if you lose control of your car

Having a car run away with you is many drivers' worst nightmare. It became a reality for Nathan Owen, 31, recently when his Jaguar I-Pace accelerated up to 100mph on the busy M62 motorway and he said he was unable to brake[1]. He was only able to stop with the intervention of police cars hemming in the runaway car until the battery ran out of charge after 35 minutes.

The UK crash investigator TRL says such incidents are on the increase[2]. The TRL claims: "These sudden unintended acceleration (SUA) events are an increasing phenomenon among drivers and occur when a vehicle suddenly and uncontrollably increases in speed. Where this occurs, drivers also commonly report that their brakes have either failed or seemed ineffective in slowing the vehicle."

What can you do if a combustion car runs away with you?

It's easier to bring a runaway combustion engine car back into line than an electric vehicle[3] (EV), even if it has an automatic gearbox.

The driver training expert Paul Ripley explains: "The first thing to do is keep calm. "If it's a manual gearbox and you're travelling at speed, change down gear by gear. The engine may sound like it's going to explode but you'll lose speed.

As you slow, declutch and use the brakes to bring the car to a stop. "With an automatic, you can also change down through the gears on some models and, if necessary, put it in neutral."

What can you do if an EV runs away with you?

Ripley claims the biggest problem is shock making us unable to think straight. He says: "There's a danger we go into 'panic-freeze' and can't respond.

You don't want to turn off any car while it's in motion because then you lose power steering and other functions. But if you can, knock it into neutral to cut power to the motor. "Then think about your escape route.

You might be able to avoid involving other vehicles in the incident."

Be careful if your car has cruise control

In the United States, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates that 16,000 crashes a year are caused by drivers pushing the accelerator pedal instead of the brake. Mark Hill, a senior consultant at the TRL, says this normally happens when cars have cruise control[4]. He adds: "It usually only occurs when the driver's feet haven't been on the pedals so when the cruise control is being used, or if it's an automatic creeping forward slowly.

"The driver's foot isn't coordinated with the space it's in. They push what they think is the brake - except it's the accelerator. Because their brain thinks their foot is on the brake, but other receptors in their body are telling them they're going faster, they press harder still on what they think is the brake."

Hill explains that vehicles have 'event data recorders' that record information such as brake, accelerator and steering position in the seconds before crashes.

Ever busier roads and distractions at low speed are two of the contributors to pedal confusion, the TRL believes.

What causes cars to run away with us?

If the car's the problem, it might be a software error in the powertrain's control module. This can result in unintended acceleration, deceleration or a loss of drive. Last year, Nissan recalled 2018-2023 Leaf EVs for a software malfunction which it said could cause the car to speed up after the cruise control had been switched off.

More recently, Owen's Jaguar I-Pace developed a mind of its own on the M62 motorway, while on the Jaguar I-Pace forum there are other owners who claim their similar Jaguar EVs went rogue[5]. But this isn't just limited to electric cars. The 2015 Smart ForTwo and Renault Twingo, 2014 Jeep Cherokee, 2014 Infiniti Q50 and Q70 and 2003 Renault Laguna have all been recalled to fix software problems that could cause sudden unintended acceleration.

In 2014, Ann Diggles, a pensioner from Leyland, Lancashire, was accused of causing death by dangerous driving after her Nissan Qashqai ran out of control, mounted the pavement and killed a pedestrian.

Diggles always maintained it was the car, her defence claiming it was a problem with the Qashqai's automatic transmission.

Despite expert witnesses from Nissan denying her car theory, she was found not guilty.

References

1. ^ recently when his Jaguar I-Pace accelerated up to 100mph on the busy M62 motorway and he said he was unable to brake (www.telegraph.co.uk)
2. ^ such incidents are on the increase (www.telegraph.co.uk)
3. ^ It's easier to bring a runaway combustion engine car back into line than an electric vehicle (www.telegraph.co.uk)
4. ^ this normally happens when cars have cruise control (www.telegraph.co.uk)
5. ^ other owners who claim their similar Jaguar EVs went rogue (www.telegraph.co.uk)