I understand the points that each of you make and I appreciate the replies to this post more so than in my previous post.
I also understand that human error is the "easiest" explanation and admit that it was my initial response before discussing it at length with my wife, and prior to the massive amount of research that I have done over the last couple of nights. As far as the point that ckonarske makes, "wife was flustered and couldn't respond to what the vehicle was doing", I stand by that statement but in no way do I equate that as an admission to fault on my wife's part.
I've been married to my wife for over 15 years and I know that she has never had an accident or ticket in 25 years of driving.
And in her words..."you wouldn't believe how quickly that van jumped over the curb and up the hill" What I'm saying is that she's a responsible experienced driver and although she's 42 years old (Don't tell her I told you) her reflexes aren't bad.
It's my belief (opinion), that while many of the Sudden unexpected acceleration incidents recorded, may be due to driver error, I also believe it would be naive to make an "all inclusive statement" such as "never happen" or "impossible".
During my research I read of an incident where a secret service driver had a sudden unexpected acceleration occur on the White House lawn and ran his Crown Victoria into a tree. I could be wrong, but I suspect that the Secret Service Drivers assigned to drive White House Diplomats around town are probably the best and most highly trained drivers on the streets.
Another site that I would suggest visiting is: http://www.antony-anderson.com/cruise/5-sa.htm
This guy goes into great depth explaining how cruise controls work and how sudden unexpected acceleration can occur, at any speed, regardless of wether or not the cruise control is on. Like everything else on the web, use your own best judgment disseminating the information provided.
I, myself, accept his credibility after reading his reports and I believe that he is very knowledgeable in respect to electronic circuitry. I think he states that he has a doctorate in electrical engineering, someplace on his website.
To summarize my feelings, I repeat that attributing SUVA to "operator error" is the easiest thing to do, but from life experience I've found it wise to avoid being "close minded" on any subject.
And with my knowledge of Electronics, I fully understand the possibility of mechanical failure (includes electrical)
Believe me, I've seen far stranger things while troubleshooting and repairing electrical and electronic control systems during my 17 years operating nuclear power plants and Gas turbine systems.
Let me close by reiterating that I made my initial post here because I felt a moral obligation to share our incident, and in no way was it to whine, or bash Honda. It is because of Honda's excellent reputation for reliability, that I was so surprised that it occurred.
[This message has been edited by hdw671 (edited 10-20-2001).]
I also understand that human error is the "easiest" explanation and admit that it was my initial response before discussing it at length with my wife, and prior to the massive amount of research that I have done over the last couple of nights. As far as the point that ckonarske makes, "wife was flustered and couldn't respond to what the vehicle was doing", I stand by that statement but in no way do I equate that as an admission to fault on my wife's part.
I've been married to my wife for over 15 years and I know that she has never had an accident or ticket in 25 years of driving.
And in her words..."you wouldn't believe how quickly that van jumped over the curb and up the hill" What I'm saying is that she's a responsible experienced driver and although she's 42 years old (Don't tell her I told you) her reflexes aren't bad.
It's my belief (opinion), that while many of the Sudden unexpected acceleration incidents recorded, may be due to driver error, I also believe it would be naive to make an "all inclusive statement" such as "never happen" or "impossible".
During my research I read of an incident where a secret service driver had a sudden unexpected acceleration occur on the White House lawn and ran his Crown Victoria into a tree. I could be wrong, but I suspect that the Secret Service Drivers assigned to drive White House Diplomats around town are probably the best and most highly trained drivers on the streets.
Another site that I would suggest visiting is: http://www.antony-anderson.com/cruise/5-sa.htm
This guy goes into great depth explaining how cruise controls work and how sudden unexpected acceleration can occur, at any speed, regardless of wether or not the cruise control is on. Like everything else on the web, use your own best judgment disseminating the information provided.
I, myself, accept his credibility after reading his reports and I believe that he is very knowledgeable in respect to electronic circuitry. I think he states that he has a doctorate in electrical engineering, someplace on his website.
To summarize my feelings, I repeat that attributing SUVA to "operator error" is the easiest thing to do, but from life experience I've found it wise to avoid being "close minded" on any subject.
And with my knowledge of Electronics, I fully understand the possibility of mechanical failure (includes electrical)
Believe me, I've seen far stranger things while troubleshooting and repairing electrical and electronic control systems during my 17 years operating nuclear power plants and Gas turbine systems.
Let me close by reiterating that I made my initial post here because I felt a moral obligation to share our incident, and in no way was it to whine, or bash Honda. It is because of Honda's excellent reputation for reliability, that I was so surprised that it occurred.
[This message has been edited by hdw671 (edited 10-20-2001).]
