Anonymous

Request exclusion of Manual Transmission vehicles for the same reason that it is considered a viable countermeasure for trucks. I have personally experienced two occasions where the side of my shoe had caught the edge of the gas paddle while rapidly needing to decelerate. Both vehicles had a manual clutch, which due to daily use, was unconsciously used to disconnect the racing engine. The first situation I had room for my vehicle to travel and was able to release the brake and reposition my foot without coming to a stop. The second situation I came to a stop, relying on the rev limiter to protect the engine, and repositioned my foot once stationary. I believe that a manual transmission vehicle with a manual clutch has a viable contermeasure to unattended acceleration that through use is ingrained as a normal reaction to slow a car when rapid deceleration is needed. A driver of an Automatic transmission just continues to push the one peddle, whether it be the appropriate peddle of not, when the car fails to slow sufficiently. If a further fail safe is needed, the exclusion could require, the manual transmission vehicle have an ignition switch with a rotary action and a position one click counter clockwise which removes the ignition current from the spark plugs. If a roll test is required for every manual transmission and engine combination the cost will preclude the offering of manual transmissions on many vehicles. Every car should be equipped with a driver operated control that can remove the ignition current from the spark plugs without locking the steering. Most cars requiring keys have this feature as a position on the rotary ignition switch, and is advantages due to its constant use in daily operation.