yobigd20 said:
Ok, so this is what I find odd about this complaint. The driver states that they were making a left turn and after waiting for oncoming traffic they lifted their foot off the brake and the incident occurred.
So, we have to assume they were not following good driving techniques as a good driver does not turn the wheel while waiting to make a turn across traffic in case they get rear ended. You don't want to get pushed into oncoming traffic in addition to getting rear ended. So we have to assume they already had the wheel cranked to make the turn. Otherwise they would have just gone forward down the street.
Ok, so we assume that they had the wheel cranked. It could not have been cranked all the way for the turn, because if it was then they would have just rushed into the parking garage, instead of hitting the other car.
So,I'm guessing here but I think lane widths on streets in the US are at least 10 feet. We'll go with that, and the fact that they were not going straight across the lane, but must have been at an angle to hit the other car, they probably travelled 12 or more feet before they hit the other car.
So, making these assumptions, I find it hard to believe that creep, at its normal speed could cause this. As I would assume the driver would have enough time to react and either turn the wheel the rest of the way to enter the garage or brake, even if the sudden movement caused by creep surprised them.
Ok, so creep, functioning normally is probably not the cause.
So, then what about unintended acceleration. That would have to be quite a bit of acceleration to cross that distance without the driver having enough time to hit the brake or turn, unless they froze when it happened. But most of us when faced with hitting something, instinctively hit the brake. So, unless both unintended acceleration and brake failure occurred, I find this difficult to believe. Though again not impossible.
However unintended acceleration can occur in cars. I had it happen to me once,when I was learning to drive. I was 15 and had had my permit for about 2 months. I was pulling into a parking lot off the highway planning on parking dirctly in front of the building we were stopping at. I came in a little fast but was lined up for the parking spot. I hit the brake and the car didn't seem to slow down. To this day I don't know if that was an illusion or if the brakes really went out. But what happened next was the cause of the unintended acceleration. In my newness to driving and my panic, I lifted my foot off of the brake and hit the accelerator. Couldn't tell you why I did it, maybe my brain in that moment of confusion thought I was hitting the wrong pedal and so it figured it would try the other one. But either way I distinctly remember doing it. So, it is quite possible that the driver had an unintended acceleration, do to them hitting the wrong pedal and they might not have even realized that they did.
So, based on everything above, I'm leaning towards user error. Though, whether or not they realize they made the error I don't know. They may honestly believe the car did it on its own or they could be deluding themselves. I know I'd try to block out my memory if I were to cause damage to Lithie.