How to Not Die!

So you're driving Dad's car, and you see Megan Fox on the side of the road. You can either:

• Continue driving normally
• Stop driving and talk to her
• Floor it so she thinks you're a reckless bad boy, looks up the license plate of the car, and then finds your number to call you for dinner. 

Being a sensible human being you obviously floored it. Megan Fox saw you and memorized your plates and you calmly take the foot off the gas only to find the car isn't slowing down. The tach is still accelerating and your engine is groaning away, trying to reach top speed. You panic, hit a tree, die and miss your date with Megan Fox. 

The end. 

Okay, not really. But I was faced with a similar albeit more realistic scenario a while ago. After dropping my Dad off at the train station one morning I decided I wanted hear the purr of the 3 liter lexus engine that resides under the hood. I floored it through the intersection, only to find the the purr turned into a roar, and didn't stop when I took my foot off the gas. 

Unlike you, who hit a tree and died I am still here typing up this post today. Thankfully, I was able to keep calm, realize what was happening and take appropriate action to survive. So in the event your gas pedal gets stuck and you can't stop accelerating this is what you do. 

1. Keep calm! Realize that the gas pedal is stuck and that The Master Debater told you what to do in this situation.
2. See if you have space to safely pullover. 
3. If you don't, gain some speed and, as safely as possible, merge over to lanes where you can safely pullover. 
4. Shift into NEUTRAL. If you are in an automatic car just move the gear level up one space to the "N." You won't need to push the brake to change gear and you won't be able to shift into reverse because of your car's safety features. (You will shift into reverse if you put your foot on the brake and shift too far so shift without touching the brake!) If you are driving a standard transmission then you should already know how to shift into neutral, but pressing the clutch pedal all the way down has the same effect as being in neutral so you could also do that.
5. Once the car is in neutral steadily apply the brakes and pull over. The car will be making a huge racket as it's probably red lining but don't worry, nothing will explode.
6. Once you have come to a complete stop shut-off the car as fast as you can to prevent further damage to the engine. (Don't shut-off the car before you have stopped! The engine powers the steering and the brakes so if you do you won't be able to steer or stop!) 
7. Get a tow truck! Don't try to drive again until a mechanic looks at your car.

Alternate scenario, you were trying to stop with the brakes but they aren't doing anything. Chances are your brakes have overheated and lost their stopping power. In this you want to lift the hand brake with your hand and slowly apply pressure so the car slows down, but not too much pressure so that the rear wheels don't lock up and make you slide. 

Anyways I just wanted to share a little tip I learned the hard way, hope you all enjoyed and if you have any questions leave them in the comments.