One member of my family died and another one was very bad injured because someone didn’t know to use the Cruise Control properly.
I didn’t know what the Cruise Control can do but I discovered that can cause severe accidents (frontal collisions) with too many victims.
We are lucky that we are still alive. I don’t want to blame anyone.
We went through hell last 4 months and we didn’t know the cause of that accident. Seems that noone understands properly how dangerous the cars can overspeed when someone is passing them. A increase in speed by up to 30 km/h or more can be fatal in some cases, if the driver is not prepaired. I don’t what to go through this kind of accident again in my life because noone says anything.
How many people were killed from using the Cruise Control unproperly, and how many of them proved what happens?
Thank you
Cristi & Alina Radeanu
[email protected]
DO YOU UNDERSTAND HOW CRUISE CONTROL WORKS?
DID YOU KNOW THAT CAN BE DEADLY? DID YOU UNDERSTOOD YOUR MANUAL?
IS ANYONE EXPLAINING THE MANUAL?
WHO’S RESPONSIBLE IF YOUR CAR KILLS PEOPLE BECAUSE YOU DON’T KNOW HOW THIS SYSTEM WORKS?
CRUISE CONTROL CAN KILL, KILLED ALREADY …
AND WILL KILL INOCENT PEOPLE
CRUISE CONTROL ALREADY BANNED IN BELGIUM
ON SOME ROADS
This letter should be a warning for any driver which drives his car on the road, with Cruise Control ON, or not. With our story, we want to save lives. Maybe someone is traveling on the same road and maybe the same thing can happen to him. Those kind or roads are everywhere. Canada or another country or another continent … wherever the Cruise Control is used, it should be used responsably. Otherwise will kill people. Or will destroy their lives. If anyone of us can help to save a life, two, a hundred or a million, we should do it.
PLEASE HELP ME SAVE LIFES
PLEASE GIVE THIS TO THE MEDIA. … TV, NEWSPAPERS … TO THE ENTIRE WORLD, TO ALL YOUR FRIENDS
MAYBE YOU CAN SAVE THEIR LIFES
MAYBE I WILL SAVE YOUR LIFE, OR WILL SAVE YOUR KIDS LIFE
SEND THIS TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW, TO EVERYONE WHO IS DRIVING OR WILL DRIVE
GOD BLESS YOU
THANK YOU
What are the manufacturers saying? What warnings do they give?
“WARNING!!!
Speed Control can be dangerous where the system can’t maintain a constant speed. Your vehicle could go too fast for the conditions, and you could lose control. An accident could be the result. Don’t use Speed Control in heavy traffic or on roads that are winding, icy, snow-covered, or slippery.”
On page 3 are the paragraphs (A) taken from the book of the previous model of the car which killed my mother. The manufacturer is not saying if the are using the same transmission, settings …. but I believe that a lot a people will be able to prove that they act the same, maybe they are the same, like most of the manufacturers keep the same engine, transmission, mechanic parts for the new models … just the car looks different … but inside is almost the same, is very similar from one model to another
If the These paragraphs are not present anymore in the new Owners Manual. I’m asking myself … WHY?
They left the warning above but their lawyers told them to take this paragraphs out, because it can be used against them … Or maybe someone died because of their car, of this malfunction, sued them, and they lost some money … they put their money first … and not our lives. They will say … “Well … we told you in the manual that the Cruise Control can cause accidents … and is your problem if and how you’re using it. You’re responsible for what your car is doing. We gaved you the warnings.” And they put the warnings in their manual, right? Can they be blamed that we don’t understand those things. Did we read that section from the manual? Is like they sold us a machine, which has some features controlled by a program, but those features can make the car overspeed when we are in traffic. You’re responsible if your car kills someone. If you didn’t know that your car will do that can you be blamed? I say YES. Because you’re not controlling your car speed anymore. And you are responsible if your car acts weird if someone passed you already and tries to go back in the lane, in front of you. If your car suddendly increases speed with 20-30 or more km/h what do you think will happen? Do you think that the driver who’s passing you knows that you are on Cruise Control? Or you know if he is in Cruise Control? I’ll say NO. We are assuming that humans are driving their cars, right? That they control the speed. If your car will race someone which is trying to go back in the lane and he has incoming trafic, what do you think that driver will think in his mind? That you’re trying to play a bad joke? Hi’s already in front of you, on the other lane, on a 2 lane road and cars are aproaching fast from the incoming trafic … he will think that you’re trying to kill him … or what else?
(From my case)
Because of your Cruise Control, you set the speed to a lower speed that the road speed (70-75 on a 80 km/h road), for any reason you may have (speeding tickets, IF your car is going slower (I was planning to say “IF your driving slower” … but you are not driving … you are just steering, you don’t feel and control your car) than the road speed and he aproaches you, the road goes uphill, your car slowes down a little bit, then your Cruise has to bring the car back to the speed, needs more power, will downshift to a lower gear (if you were in 4th gear before, it will downshift to 3rd) and the RPMS will increase a lot (a few hundreds, or thousands!?) … you feel you car pushing to catch the speed … what if the hill ends very fast and your car is still pushing to achieve the speed you SET? …you’ll feel your car going faster, your speed will increase, your car has a momentum which now is moving downhill and will increase the speed like crazy … (before you’ve been confident that Cruise Control is taking care properly of your speed) …do you know why the Cruise didn’t used engine break? … why it didn’t switched to a lower gear … from 3rd to 2nd? … well … your speed is too big for the second gear and you cannot have 90-100 km/h in the 2nd gear because will damage the engine, transmission … what is your Cruise doing? … your Cruise program knows that 2nd gear will damage the car and will not downshift anymore … and your car accelerates constantly … are you lost? did you noticed that? … what if the car behing you had the conditions to pass you? … having his foot on the gas, he had the reflex of pushing the gas more before the hill, so he had the same speed when he went uphill and aproaced you, he felt that you’re not keeping your speed constant and your going slower … the road turns left from the top of the hill, so he is very close, he gets view of the other lane, of the incoming trafic … he thinks that is no big deal to pass you … the broken line starts there, from where he has view and the road turns left slightly and goes downhill … he decides to pass you … puts his left signal, check his mirror and blind spot … and then he steers fast, passes you when you’re already going downhill … his car almost passed you, he doesn’t know that your speed went crazy … he doesn’t understand why are you still there … and your car or you are pushing the gas more … why do you cut his retreat in the lane … he tries to push the gas more, because he already passed you … and your car is racing him … WHY? you don’t know what you have to do … PUSH THE BRAKE … and only God / his destiny and yours and the incomings driver knows what will happen. Will he try to push the gas more? Will he try to “kill” his engine? Are you going to speed up more? … or … sorry … is your car going to speed up more? How much time do you think he has to choose … he tryes to push the gas more and will try to go in front of you, or he realizez that you are … oops … sorry … your car … is accelerating and cuting his retreat in the lane … YOUR CAR ACTS LIKE A KILLER. Are you aware of that. Did you saw this guy aproaching from behind and starting his pass? Did you saw that he passed you? Why do you live your car to try to kill him, his family? Why you didn’t pushed the brake when your car went crazy?Will you say to the police that you have been on Cruise Control and is not your problem for what your car did?
The guy passed you and has to choose between … what? to try to put all 3 cars in danger because your car acts like a killer? … he had to push his gas more and try to go in the lane in front of you?, to close his eyes and let things happen? … I choosed to steer left and avoid the incoming car … and I tried to somehow control my car, but I couldn’t.
HEY!!
YOU!! Your car killed someone from my family and made my life a hell. Did you even realized what happend? Do you use that stupid Cruise Control anymore? Are you paying more attention to the road now? Do you feel quilty for that accident? Do you feel quilty that your car destroyed 4 lives? Will you tell to the police that your car was the killer? Or it was you? Did you pushed the gas more … and more … and more … and you didn’t realized I passed you and you’re forcing me to go out of the road? Oooppss … did I said you … can I make you responsible for what happened? Or your Cruise Control was responsible?
In my case, the police officer told me that the driver said “I didn’t speed up … my car was on Cruise Control … and I just sawed him there … “. That driver wasn’t paying attention to the road.
I waited 4 months to find about the Cruise Control story. The officer never returned my calls in this 4 months. I told him on the phone … “I don’t believe the Cruise Control story”. I didn’t know at that time what I know now. I told myself … hey … what is this Cruise Control doing? How are the gears changed, how much gas will push to the engine? What will all those forces do when you reach that top of the hill? Can this Cruise Control break? Or you are responsible to USE THE BREAK. Guess what … YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE TO USE THE BREAK, to control your car. The manufacturers give warnings in their manual, but they don’t spend the money to tell and to make you aware about this danger. IS YOUR PROBLEM, AND MINE … maybe the media can do something to fix this problem. A law should try to fix it. Is it hard to do? I guees not … will cost some money, but how many lives you think a ROAD SIGN will save … and how much costs that ROAD SIGN? In Belgium they already have this, Cruise Control is banned on some roads.
WE WANT OUR LIFES BACK. WHAT HAPPENED TO US DOESN’T NEED TO HAPPEN TO OTHER PEOPLE. DOESN’T NEED TO HAPPEN TO YOU.
This is the paragraph which is missing from the Owner Manual for the 2005 Chrysler 300. I have found this in the 1999 Chrysler 300M. Their lawyers or someone decided to not show how this system is working anymore, for the new model …. WHYYYYYYYYYYY?
“USING SPEED CONTROL ON HILLS
WHEN CLIMBING A HILL
If vehicle speed drops 3 mph (4.8 km/h) below the Speed Control SET speed, the transmision will downshift to third gear. Under severe conditions the transmission may downshift again to second gear. The transmission will upshift as the vehicle reaches the top of the hill..
WHEN DESCENDING A HILL
If vehicles speed rises 3 mph (4.8 km/h) over the Speed Control SET speed, the transmission will downshift to third gear. This provides engine braking to keep vechicle speed under control. THE TRANSMISSION WILL NOT DOWNSHIFT BELOW THIRD GEAR TO CONTROL VEHICLE OVERSPEED. The transmission will upshift to fourth gear after the vehicle has reached the bottom of the hill.
NOTE: On very steep hills, a greater speed loss or gain may occur. It may be preferable to drive without Speed Control.”
MY QUESTION FOR WHO IS READING: What happenes with that momentum given by the 3rd gear when this car is going uphill, in the 3rd gear? Will the momentum push the car with a bigger force downhill? (YES, because mother Earth has gravity and now this is adding to that force) Is Cruise Control able to stop the overspeed when in 3rd gear? The answer is: NO. The driver is responsible to control the speed and to push the brake when necessary.
What happened to us …
Me and my family were involved in a very unfortunate accident on 25 June 2005, Sat, around 11:50 AM on Wellington Road, traveling to St. Thomas, Ontario. We were traveling southbound, on a 2 lane road, one each way (country road). I wasn’t using Cruise Control. The accident happened because a car I was passing raced me when I was trying to go back in the lane. I had to avoid the collision with a incoming car, so I went out of the road on the left (on the gravel), let the incoming car pass me and because I couldn’t control the car on the gravel, I tried to go back on the road (no other cars were coming) but I couldn’t stabilize the car. We went out of the road on the right side, on the gravel, hit a mailing box, rolled once and then we hit the ditch.
In the car we were 4 people … me, my wife Alina and in the back seats we had her parents.
When we hit the ditch, the car catched fire in the engine compartment. For a few moment we thought that we will burn there, stucked in the car. My wife parents looked very injured in the back seats. They were both wearing seatbelts. Me and my wife tried to open our doors, but they were stuck. The car was burning at the engine, and we were very scared. I had my door window intact, but the passenger front window was cracked … my wife broked the glass and she went out of the car through her window. I removed my seatbelt, moved to her seat and I used the same window to go out the car. We were very concerned about her parents, which were very severe injuries and they were stuck in the burning car. Luckily, both the rear door were wide open.
My wife was in shock, she was scared for her parents life/injuries. I removed my mother in law seatbelt (she was seating on the rear right seat) and I took her out of the car and leaved her on grass at 3 meters from the car. I went then to the other side, I removed my father in law seatbelt and took him out of the car, to the other side of the road. Then I went back and took my mother in law to the other side of the road, far from the burning car. They were both looking to have severe injuries. I went back to the car, entered through the rear left door and I grabbed my wallet from the glove box, the my wife purse from the front passenger seat and my mother in law purse from the back. I also had other valuable and important things there but I had to leave the car as fast I could because was burning in the engine compartment and I didn’t know when will catch on fire completely or will explode. Other cars stopped at the scene, someone called 911 … the ambulance, firefighters and police came.
The ambulance personal had to ask my wife’s parents questions but they were not speaking english. I had to translate for them. A police officer was talking to my wife. He didn’t asked what or why the accident happened. My wife was in shock and concerned about her parents life. The ambulance people told me that someone has to go with them to the hospital and in the ambulance because they need a translator. I told the officer that I have to go in the ambulance, but he was still asking my wife … who we are … but never asked at the scene who caused the accident.
I remember I saw the car which raced us stopped very close to the crash area … it was a Silver Chrysler 300 (the new model), and I thought that the officer will ask … WHAT HAPPEND … WHY DID YOU CRASHED? … but it didn’t asked … so that car left the scene. The ambulances went to Elgin Hospital, in St. Thomas. The doctors considered that my father in law was a worse condition than my mother in law and they sent him to Victoria Hospital, in London.
My mother in law died 1 hour and a half later in the hospital … and my father in law had 3 broken ribs, left lung punctured, small intestine punctured and broken spine. He was for 4 days in the Critical Trauma Care section. He suffered an abdominal operation for his intestines.
A local newspaper published a material about the accident and they said the police is looking for witnesses.
A few days later, the officer went to my friend Angela and told her that he knows that I wasn’t speeding, slaloming and that 2 witnesses called … one was the Silver 300 driver and one was the driver which was approaching us.
I waited almost 4 months for the police to finish the investigation/give charges and seems that they missed a very important anomaly which Cruise Control is doing on that kind of road / and while going uphill and downhill … some cars can overspeed instantly with about 20 to 30 km/h or more … which is very important if someone is passing the car which has the Cruise Control on.
The Silver Chrysler 300 which raced me had Cruise Control ON while we were going uphill/downhill. THIS ANOMALY CAN HAPPEN IN ANY CAR, NOT ONLY CHRYSLER. The car manufacturer give BIG AND IMPORTANT WARNINGS that Cruise Control can cause accident where a constant speed cannot be maintained.
In Belgium, the Cruise Control is banned on some roads, because drivers/cars using it caused accidents when they didn’t hit the brake in time … and hit the cars in front of them which were braking.
My boss told me that the same anomaly happened to him last weekend while he had Cruise ON at 75 km/h, the road went uphill and then downhill … his RPMS went crazy … and after the top of the hill his car went to 105 km/h almost instantly. He is not driving a Chrysler. Any car have this anomaly when is driven with Cruise Control ON.
I was blamed for the accident. They are planning to give me careless driving, for which I will fight myself. I can be my own lawyer, I don’t afford one anymore, and I don’t want to waste money for layers, experts, … and if the law doesn’t care about what I have to say, maybe the other people will.
I went through hell all this 4 months. I tried to explain myself and understand how can another driver do this thing … to play with someone else life and put 3 cars passengers in danger … the car who is passing him, the incoming traffic car and himself. Luckily, I think I have found an answer. I was lucky to have the knowledge to understand myself what is this system doing. That program/machine/robot which is controlling the speed of the car has errors and people can lose their live or can suffer for the rest of their life.
My mother in law cannot be with us anymore. Her husband is alone. He lost the love of his life. Is sad. If we will drive on the streets and will leave this ROBOTS to drive our cars, the same thing can happen to any of us. What if u have your kids with you. And you’re driving safe …. you don’t change lanes, you stay far, leave space from the other cars … and suddenly someone from the incoming traffic decides to pass a car, which maybe is driving to slow … he has space to make a safe pass, he doesn’t know if the other car is in Cruise Control because most of us think that a human is driving that car, not a robot … and this anomaly happens and that car crashed into yours … and maybe you or your wife, or your kids, or your parents, friends, colleagues will suffer from this accident/CRUISE CONTROL, or will die, or will be in coma for a long time, or stuck in wheelchairs or paralyzed for their entire life … WHAT WOULD YOU DO?
Would you try to fight beside me to save as many lives you can. Or you will just say … well … is not my problem. And you will still go out and drive on the roads, where this anomalies happen … and your car will take someone else life or your life will be taken by another car … WILL YOU LEAVE THIS HAPPEN TO SOMEONE ELSE? OR TO YOU, OR YOUR KIDS, YOUR FAMILY, YOUR FRIENDS, OR ALL OF US.
I’m planning to make this public, to tell to everyone in some way … HEY … YOUR CAR CAN KILL PEOPLE, YOUR CAR CAN KILL YOU, YOUR CRUISE CONTROL IS NOT SAFE.
In Belgium they have laws and signs on some roads where they don’t allow CRUISE CONTROL. Are they just smarter … or they care more? Maybe they already saved a few lives … 10, 100, 1000, 5000, or maybe more.
In Ontario is a law against the pit bulls. And just a few of them reacted violent and bitted they beloved one. And they are banned now. Millions of cars use Cruise Control, this is as a modern feature. How many people are aware of the danger they are taken by this feature? Why do we have those warning about the airbags. The can kill people too, right? But they saved me and my wife from any injuries. Should the manufacturers be forced by law to put a sticker/label for the danger of the CRUISE CONTROL too?
I say YES. And we also need to force drivers, by law, to not drive with CRUISE CONTROL on some roads.
I want to ask whoever will read this … DO YOU USE CRUISE CONTROL? ARE YOU AWARE THAT YOU CAN LOOSE THE CONTROL OF YOUR CAR AND YOU CAN DIE, OR KILL SOMEONE ELSE, OR SOMEONE ELSE FAMILY, KIDS.
We were lucky that we are alive and we are not in a wheelchair, or paralyzed. My wife lost her mom. She died in very bad pain. But maybe you will not have the same luck as we had.
Maybe I’m not called “expert”, but which driver behind the wheel is expert to prove and to know how his car is working. Maybe I’m lucky and I have more knowledge of physics and I meet the right people whitch took care of my education properly. And I want to be responsible for me, for what my car is doing in trafic.
MAYBE I WILL SAVE YOUR LIFE, OR WILL SAVE YOUR KIDS LIFE
MAYBE YOU CAN SAVE MY LIFE TOO. DON’T LET YOUR CAR TAKE LIVES.
SEND THIS TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW, TO EVERYONE WHO IS DRIVING OR WILL DRIVE
WE ALL SHOULD STOP ONLY WHEN EVERY DRIVER WILL BE AWARE OF THE CRUISE CONTROL PROBLEM. FROM HIS CAR, OR THE OTHER DRIVERS CARS.
Today is 25 Oct 2005. Is 4 months from our accident. Maria Brindusa … mother, wife … rest in peace. You will be in our hearts forever. We will never forget. Maybe one day we will forgive.
We waited 2 years to see each other, and now she will stay here forever. Maybe her death and her husband suffer will not be in vain.
I’m somehow proud that I started all this story. I had to do something to take everything out of my heart. Sorry if I gaved your more problems. I will never forgive myself if I will see that I knew what happened and that someone is suffering again. And you know what?
Everyone is so ignorant. No one is informed, no one knows properly anything, and no one cares. I thought I live in a different world, where everyone should care for each other.
You should try to do something good everyday for someone. And you should tell this to your friends.
I’m wondering in how many accidents was this Cruise Control involved. Did anyone explained what happened? How many people got killed, how many had severe injuries … and how many drivers stepped back and didn’t told to anyone, because they thaught they will be blamed? Maybe if they said something then this world will be different.
What if I died in that accdient … you’ll never read this. You’ll never know all this.
Is you duty to live responsible … to think, to feel, to learn, to teach, to be good …
Do you know what means to read between the lines?
The more knowledge you will have, the more meaning you’ll get.
Do you know how the warnings are made?
Do you think they say in a few words everything what needs to be said about something?
You don’t believe until someone proves you, right? Ask your government to prove you, ask the manufacturers … the problem is that maybe they are not interested to tell you what you have to know. You have to fight to not be blamed because someone decides that they can hide things and take lives. Who knew about all this things is very guilty. I don’t know how they feel when they do this, but I hope they will be judged by someone. You can be judged too … if you just stay and live careless.
But you are guilty too … if you don’t do nothing to stop what they are doing.
Ask different people what they understand from that warning and you will see …
That warning doesn’t cover anything. Is just a general idea.
And “Don’t use Speed Control in heavy traffic or on roads that are winding, icy, snow-covered, or slippery.” doesn’t cover every case.
Don’t leave for tomorrow what you can do today …
Tell your friends about our message
