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刚刚收到本地的community paper，觉得其中一篇文章会对大家很有帮助，可是找不到online版本，只好慢慢打字了。

Fast and the Furious
The first rule of stopping a runaway car: don't panic

In the US and Europe millions of Toyotas have been recalled because of an accelerator pedal that can stick and keep the power on.

So what do you do if your accelerator jams?

To a certain extent it depends on the car you're driving. If you are in a European car there is a high possibility it has a smart accelerator pedal that is monitored by the car's computer. If the computer senses that both the accelerator and the brake are being applied, it will shut down the accelerator and give preference to the brake. So you'll stop.

This is probably why Toyota has announced it is starting to fit smart accelerators into its cars.

If, however, the accelerator won't let go even when you apply the brakes you can still stop. The trick is not to panic - quite a trick when you're barreling down the road with a stuck accelerator.

First of all don't dab the brake pedal and certainly don't pump it; this will only result in the loss of power assistance to the pedal, which will make it harder to push. Apply pressure firmly and evenly until you're pressing with all your might. Give it everything you've got. Toyota has suggested to US owners who experience the problem to get on the brake with both feet. You have to push really hard to overcome the power of the engine, and engines these days are a great deal more powerful than any that have come before.

The next thing to do, and do it as soon as you start braking, is to stop the engine sending power to the wheels. The easiest way to do this is to put the car into neutral. In cars with manual transmission this is as easy as pressing the clutch. In automatics you need to press the button on the shift lever and move it from drive to neutral. It’s not always easy when power is going through the transmission so it may require a decent push. The best way to get used to this is to practise doing it. Try it on a deserted road somewhere.

You can also kill the engine by turning off the ignition but this is usually not advisable until the car is stopped. That’s because when most people turn off they automatically pull the key out and when you do that the steering locks. But additionally both the steering and brakes lose power assistance and become way heavier to operate.

Cars with keyless ignition have an engine start/stop button and these won’t always kill a runaway motor, although some will if you press and hold for three or four seconds.

Finally, don’t get off the brake pedal until you’re safely stopped and the engine is off.