[TheReaper]

Originally Posted by TxBandit911

Still doesn't address what happens when someone runs out of fuel, pretty much the same thing will happen....how come we don't read horror stories in the news all time about all the crashes caused from running out of gas?

You will still have airbags if you run out of fuel.

[Silverlsinva]

You know chevy_cowboy made a interesting point oh how people turning off the ignition causes crashes cause people don't know how to deal with that situation and aren't taught it in drivers ed or other driver schools. I do see how people were killed cause of the no airbags and safety things. I also kinda hope this makes Gm a better company going forward and doin the right thing from now on.

[Chevy_cowboy]

Originally Posted by TheReaper

You will still have airbags if you run out of fuel.

I think his point was people don't typically lose control of their car and crash when they run out of gas... why is it different when they turn the ignition to acc?

[TheReaper]

Originally Posted by Chevy_cowboy

I think his point was people don't typically lose control of their car and crash when they run out of gas... why is it different when they turn the ignition to acc?

Airbags " if " they lose control.

[Chevy_cowboy]

[TheReaper]

Originally Posted by Chevy_cowboy

Sorry Dude if you don't get it.

[TxBandit911]

Originally Posted by TheReaper

You will still have airbags if you run out of fuel.

Yeah, I remember BEFORE cars had air bags, still didn't hear about anyone crashing and dying because they ran out of fuel.

Seems to me like people don't drive their cars anymore, they let the cars drive them and when a system fails they crash cause they have no idea what to do when the car isn't doing 90% of the work for them. This tells me that most people out on the road are pretty much on auto pilot, sad....

[meissen]

Admittedly, I thought the same way as others - that if the vehicle essentially stalls, it shouldn't be a swerve off the road situation. But there are situations which I can imagine would cause an accident.

a) If you're starting to make a left hand turn and your vehicle suddenly stalls it could put you in a position to be t-boned.

b) If the key moves to the "off" position, there's the possibility that the steering wheel could lock. Depending on the angle of the steering wheel when it happens, it could lock instantly and that would be no bueno.

The issue is very serious and the folks who made the decision not to issue the recall should face manslaughter charges.

As far as suing GM, that's a lost cause - they shed all liability when they went through bankruptcy.

I do want to mirror Mrs Barra's sentiments, though - as a GM employee myself, it's been a very somber two months and even though I am in a position that has no correlation to vehicles being built, I still personally feel ashamed for the company and very sorry for what has happened. I have faith that GM will do what they can to right the wrongs, but sadly nothing can bring back the folks who were in fatal accidents nor can they undo the physical and emotional damage that has been done.

I know everyone's heard it before, but the vehicles we're building today are so much better than the vehicles being built prior to the bankruptcy.

[ROBOSSRS]

Originally Posted by Chevy_cowboy

Also a good reminder to give some pointers to any new drivers in your family and maybe run through some "what if" scenario's.

Great idea. Driving is a full time deal. Once you get in a car driving is what you need to do. Of course everyone will act differently in different scenarios without some kind of training. When I was in High School a guy wrecked his perfect 67 Mustang because the trunk lid popped open. I've had a car, a Ford, that shut off while I was doing 55 mph . I did not wreck the car, I pulled off onto the shoulder. Then last night while I was driving to a service call I was on a very curvy road with the company Caravan. I thought " What would happen if the van shut off or I lost power steering. " I was thinking about it so I probably would have been okay if something did happen. A curvy road could be different than a straight highway where my almost new Ford died. I was told over thirty years ago by a Buick dealer not to hang a lot of junk on the ignition switch after having the switch replaced.

Yes, I think GM screwed up.

[motorhead]

Read about the Remington model 700 safety and trigger problems some time. This just shows how companies do what ever it takes to skate around a problem that they caused to save cost at the expense of human life. It was found that the trigger design was flawed before the gun went into production. Meanwhile Remington silently settled law suit after law suits with non disclosure agreements in an effort to keep it under wraps. It took them seventy years to change the design. They market it as this great new trigger instead of a fix to the original design.

This is why we need hearings like this because too many companies won't do the right thing without being forced to do so.

[oldfriend]

Just like they had before , the same way of thinking is back and stronger than ever
To freaking big to listen , one freaking day some poor relative of one of those too dogs will have some( bad luck )with his or her GM product and we will see if shit get done pront about the issue !

[Ringo64]

Originally Posted by TxBandit911

Yeah, I remember BEFORE cars had air bags, still didn't hear about anyone crashing and dying because they ran out of fuel.

Seems to me like people don't drive their cars anymore, they let the cars drive them and when a system fails they crash cause they have no idea what to do when the car isn't doing 90% of the work for them. This tells me that most people out on the road are pretty much on auto pilot, sad....

Think there is two pieces to this.

1. You are absolutely correct that people see cars as foreign machines that they barely know enough to qualify "driving." Going back to the Toyota acceleration glitch, I can't tell you how many of my non-car friends were surprised when I told them that you can coast in neutral and slow down when you're throttle is stuck, or what have you. I'm sure others are this way too. Plus I'm sure they don't realize you should go into neutral to restart the car while in motion and the engine shuts down.

2. As some pointed out if the ignition is in the off position, the steering wheel could lock, which is very unsafe. Plus other items could cut and pose problems depending on situations.

Overall its kind of shared blame I think, as there are potentially some very bad possibilities if mechanical items prevent the driver from getting out of harms way but a driver still needs to know how to operate a vehicle safely if "aids" fail or loss of functionality that still remains the vehicle operable.

Though I think the real issue here is the fact that GM knew and didn't do anything for a long time. Though you could argue close to none of those Sr individuals that made that decision are still at GM.

Anyway, I feel that this should be an eye opener for both car manufacturers and drivers.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk

[Ringo64]

Originally Posted by oldfriend

Just like they had before , the same way of thinking is back and stronger than ever
To freaking big to listen , one freaking day some poor relative of one of those too dogs will have some( bad luck )with his or her GM product and we will see if shit get done pront about the issue !

Maybe I'm not fully understanding you but something that happened during the OLD GM is your reasoning for the OLD GM being back?

The "new" GM is working to solve the issue, why they issued a bunch of recalls. Some being some they already issued. Granted with a little push by the government but at least they are doing something now.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk

[Angrybird 12]

Originally Posted by Ringo64

Think there is two pieces to this.

1. You are absolutely correct that people see cars as foreign machines that they barely know enough to qualify "driving." Going back to the Toyota acceleration glitch, I can't tell you how many of my non-car friends were surprised when I told them that you can coast in neutral and slow down when you're throttle is stuck, or what have you. I'm sure others are this way too. Plus I'm sure they don't realize you should go into neutral to restart the car while in motion and the engine shuts down.

2. As some pointed out if the ignition is in the off position, the steering wheel could lock, which is very unsafe. Plus other items could cut and pose problems depending on situations.

Overall its kind of shared blame I think, as there are potentially some very bad possibilities if mechanical items prevent the driver from getting out of harms way but a driver still needs to know how to operate a vehicle safely if "aids" fail or loss of functionality that still remains the vehicle operable.

Though I think the real issue here is the fact that GM knew and didn't do anything for a long time. Though you could argue close to none of those Sr individuals that made that decision are still at GM.

Anyway, I feel that this should be an eye opener for both car manufacturers and drivers.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk

On your point about the steering wheel locking, on an automatic to lock it your transmission has to be in park to be able to turn the key to lock, on the manuals I have owned in the past there has to be either a lever beside the switch or a button on the switch to turn the key to the lock position to lock the steering.. They act as a interlock to prevent what you are suggesting so you would need that to also fail. Both the Cobalt my wife had and the HHR I had were this way, also both the manual and automatic Sky's I had were that way, all of which are on the ignition recall. My Camaro is that way, my Saturn Vue is that way and even my manual tranny S-10 is that way.