Police are still trying to find the driver of a BMW station wagon who drove on top of two other cars in a North Toronto gym parking lot, then left the scene.
BMW drives on top of other cars in parking lot (video)
Police are still trying to find the driver of a BMW station wagon who drove on top of two other cars in a North Toronto gym parking lot, then left the scene.
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This should be used by BMW as a marketing tool. Now THAT'S off-roading prowess.
You can see the pause as the driver goes through the motions: "Oh shit! Oh shit! What do I do? ... Okay, just drive away, no one will ever know it was you. Yeah..."
I certainly hope they get caught.
It's not a car, it's a character flaw.
That's what it looked like to me, too. I predict: Teenager driving parents' car who accidentally hit the gas when they meant to hit the break (or clutch).
I hope they're caught, but I really just can't help but giggle at the clear, "Well, I guess I'll just be leaving now, nobody mind meeeee!"
I wonder if they can get any of the license plate from the video of this camera, or if there's another angle on the lot.
"Teach you to eat my lunch M*th*r F*ck*r!
I wouldn't have expected an SUV to be able to survive that kind of abuse.
I figured slapping the SUV label on them was more of a marketing stunt than an indication of the vehicle's capabilities.
If you have a vet surgically remove the truck nuts, they're less likely to do that.
See, if it wasn't for our oppressive surveillance camera panopticonic society we wouldn't have these awesome videos to giggle at.
Hmm. If the car had managed to drive OVER the two vehicles, instead of just making it to the windshield before stopping, it would have made an awesome BMW commercial.
The ad campaign would be called "offroading is for pussies."
"If you have a vet surgically remove the truck nuts, they're less likely to do that."
ahaha perfect Snig.
That's not a station wagon. It's an SUV (or in BMW-ese, an "SAV," since BMW admits there's no real utility to these vehicles).
Station wagons are for people who need a spacious vehicle. SUVs are for people who need a spacious vehicle but have too little self esteem to drive a station wagon or minivan, and therefore would rather sacrifice some of that spaciousness and some fuel economy in exchange for a lift kit that makes them feel more "powerful" when driving.
Why isn't there more damage to the two cars? If an SUV drove onto my hood or windscreen, I would expect it to be very obvious after the fact. The glass doesn't even appear to be broken -- if you use the slider it looks the same before and after. IMHO.
After backing off its little romp on the cars you can spot a trail of fluid. Probably burned up the motor or transmission on its escape.
A common problem on SUV's is accelerating when people step on the brake. The pedals are shifted slightly to the left, so people step on the wrong pedal from time to time. The vehicle accelerates, so they jam on the "brake" even harder.
It happened with Audis years ago (which had the same design flaw), giving them a reputation for accelerating even when the owner fully pressed on the brakes. Impossible, since brakes are far more powerful than engines. But the reputation and lawsuits lasted for years.
SUVs are for people who need a spacious vehicle but have too little self esteem to drive a station wagon or minivan, and therefore would rather sacrifice some of that spaciousness and some fuel economy in exchange for a lift kit that makes them feel more "powerful" when driving.
They're also for people with hip problems that can't descend into a normal height car.
My money is on DWCP - driving while cell phoning.
Canadian monster truck rallies sure do suck.
@zenbeatnik
Yup-- I can reconstruct the driver-side conversation right now:
"Ooooh, darn it-- can you hold on for just a sec?"
That's not a car. That's a desperate cry for help. Please get this person the help they need.
"A common problem on SUV's is accelerating when people step on the brake."
No. It isn't. When you step on the brake, you stop. When you step on the accelerator thinking it's the brake, you accelerate.
And damn Ed Bradley and 60 minutes for almost driving Audi under with their shoddy reporting.
I gathered from the intro text that the driver left the scene, but when the driver paused during the video, I secretly hoped that he or she would simply straighten out the car, calmly exit the vehicle, and enter the gym.
If I were already up on the hoods, though, I would have been tempted to try to get the rest of the way over.
ENHANCE.
Wait... that only exists in movies?
In Pee Wee Herman voice: "I meant to do that."
"Hmm, maybe I will walk..."
I don't see why they're having any trouble tracking they guy down. All they have to do is freeze it at about 55 seconds and do a scan and enhance on the license plate.
Readjust the gamma and they could probably ID the witness sitting in the passenger seat of that SUV at bottom right through his reflection.
Honestly, this is first year CSI stuff.
"Impossible, since brakes are far more powerful than engines."
@Anonymous: this is wholly incorrect, and easy to show (if you're not concerned about burning out your brakes). It depends on how hard either one is pressed. In an empty parking lot (or better, on a safe test track), hold down the brake and start pressing the gas. As the gas is pressed harder, the engine will eventually overpower the brakes. If both are fully engaged, the car will speed up almost as if the brakes weren't even pressed.
The song "Should I Stay or Should I Go" by the Clash comes to mind.
[SUVs are] also for people with hip problems that can't descend into a normal height car.
And for people who really need to go off-road. But how many SUV drivers have hip problems or off-roading needs? I'll bet their numbers are dwarfed by the too-wussy-to-drive-a-real-station-wagon crowd.
(BTW, I accidentally his "Report" on your comment when I meant to hit "Reply." Apologies.)
If I ever need an SUV, I'll definitely check out BMWs now.
"this is wholly incorrect, and easy to show"
@Pseudothink: No nice way to say this, you're wrong. I've done this 'test' (accidently), and the engine simply dies. Maybe somewhere there's a muscle car with an engine and drivetrain powerful enough to overcome both the rear brakes and the other set of locked wheels and push the car forward, but I imagine the clutch or transmission would give out first.
Someone please give this video the keyboard cat treatment.
@Bonafidebob
I'm with Pseudothink on this one. Back when I was first learning a motorcycle I once used my wrist to pull the front brake, instead of my fingers, and ending up partly engaging the throttle as well. The effect was like the brake didn't exist. My motorcycle's peak torque is 18 ft-lbs (24.5 NM).
Either way, this would be a very difficult situation to accidentally reproduce in a car regardless of transmission.
"What's the difference between luxury cars and porcupines?
The pricks are on the inside."
I see it is a worldwide thing that BMW drivers are tossers. Extra points if they have an X5 numberplate.
"If both are fully engaged, the car will speed up almost as if the brakes weren't even pressed."
Actually, no, you're incorrect. If you press the brakes firmly, they will always overpower the engine. If the car is standing still, it's possible to feather them just right to get the drive wheels turning while the non-driven wheels stay still. I've done this many times, usually in a ridiculously overpowered car in order to perform what is (sometimes fondly) referred to as a burn-out.
As the gas is pressed harder, the engine will eventually overpower the brakes.
Thats a great way to burn up your transmission!
@bonafidebob: you can't do this with a manual transmission unless you really feel like burning up the clutch. And you also have to have the heel-toe skills to heel the brake while hitting the gas.
Altogether none of this shit is a good idea. You are likely to break something.
BTW the SUV here, and many others its size seem to be built for little girls (pardon the expression). When I have to drive one like this model, I feel like the pedals are in the wrong place and way too small. And the steering is way too sensitive. Its asking for an accident, especially if the drive has coffee in one hand and a cell phone in the other.
Boing Boing goes Jalopnik -- love it. People should require a special license to drive pickups and SUVs. That would discourage their rampant (albeit diminishing)use as a daily driver.
Yeah, but what if the car's on a treadmill?
From my experience SUVs are mostly for the category of people who used to drive station wagons, but who now refuse to own anything called a station wagon.
CSI is probably the biggest offender for that crap. Thanks to that show I constantly have to explain to my beginning design students why you can't use Photoshop to reveal crisp detail in a low-resolution image.
Just once I want to see a crime drama where the detectives ask the forensics lab to "enhance" a grainy security video and the lab tech says "sorry, that's as good as it gets."
Teenager, nothing- my money is on 'Yummy mommy heading to mat class with low-fat no-whip mocha latte in one hand and Swarovski-encrusted Sidekick in the other'.
Maybe if the gym keeps an eye out for cancelled memberships in the next week or so...?
I'm with you freetard - yummy mummy, probably on the phone with a misbehaving labradoodle in the back. Either that or a RoadWarrior (FFS - sales rep) with a hangover.
As for surveillance cameras - what IS the point? They make everyone think they are living in 1984 yet they don't ever actually work because their resolution is so appalling: worst of both worlds.
Are police not allowed to subpoena gym membership rosters for property damage cases?
Depending on the size and shape of the pedals, I often find myself slipping off of the brake and hitting the gas. It hasn't caused any accidents yet, but it's certainly startling. By the time I can get my foot back on to the brake, I can easily have gone a couple of car lengths or more. I'm not surprised this happened.
Nor am I really surprised the guy drove off. It's illegal and ends up screwing the people who now have to pay their deductible to fix their totaled vehicles, but after something like that, you probably wouldn't be thinking clearly either.
I have big feet and that can cause all sorts of problems driving. On American cars with wide brakes pedals that are several inches closer than the gas pedal, when I go to take my foot off the gas to hit the brake, I often get stuck behind the brake pedal. This nearly caused an accident several times!
How evocative of BMW drivers' general attitude toward other drivers/other people in general!
There's a reason why, in my neighborhood, they say that BMW stands for "Break My Windows."
Topical: http://www.makemymood.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/csizoom.jpg
Brakes can decelerate a car from 100 to 0 mph in about 5 seconds. How many cars can go 0 to 100 in 5 seconds? Not many, and those decelerate even faster. Ergo, brakes are stronger.
http://www.germancarzone.com/test-data/30590-autocar-0-100-0-times.html
When I was growing up, my mom drove a Grand Wagoneer. We hosted a lot of rescue dogs and the space really helped when we had to drive them around. I remember rolling around in the back laughing and wrestling with the mutts. It was also great in the snow. I inherited it in high school and finally sent it off to Carhalla with right around 300k on the odometer. I'll make sure to point out to Frannie that someone on the internet said she should have gotten a minivan instead. I'm sure her self-esteem is still really low, though, so I might not want to bum her out too much.
@Anonymous - No, that means brakes are swifter.
Clearly this video needs to be sped up and given the Yakity Sax treatment.
Ugh, there is so much bad info here in the brakes vs. engine debate. Consider various relevant factors, such as static vs. dynamic friction, automatic vs. manual transmission, FWD vs. RWD, gear ratio, and the effects of having power brakes and/or a differential involved. From my personal experience in a small, open-wheeled race car with a differential and unpowered brakes, when the throttle jammed on me while I was in a straightaway, applying the brakes full force had negligible affect on reducing my speed, and I went into the curb. Perhaps in a street car with power brakes and FWD, the static friction from the brake pads is enough to overpower the engine while the car is not moving. I wonder if the same is true at 60mph, if the brake and gas are both fully applied.
Well, considering the car leaked something, just tell all the repair shops in the area (the car won't get far) to let them (the cops) know when a black X5 comes in with some hole underneath.
Hopefully it's the brake fluid container and the car crashes heavily before that happens...
Oops, spoke too soon, those marks were left by the back wheel as the driver sped up to mount the 2 cars...
Brainspore,
Re: ENHANCE!
It's not perfect for every situation, but 2d3's Super Resolution (part of the TacitView package) is very good indeed. I can't find the video demo anywhere, unfortunately, but the page has a good enough explanation.
It was the perfect combination of the concrete dividers that helped launch it upwards. Quite surprised it made it that far and didn't have distorted wheel alignment afterwards.
Most SUVs are barely functional as off-road, especially modern ones. There does exist a few of them that are actually designed for off-road use..
check out Jeremy Clarkson's mountain challenge: pitting a Range Rover vs. a Escalade vs. a Hummer H2. Just one survived the incompetent driver behind the wheel.
Oh, man, Camillei, thanks for that link.
Laughing and choking out loud!
Drunkest BMW goes back for more fail.
BMW drivers may have a bad reputation, but their cars are usually well built, even if that one isn't the most capable of off-road vehicles. It may no longer ride as smooth at high speeds, of course. An early servicing might also be in order.
I've been that drunk a few times
Defn a pedal confussion, with a twist. Here's my theory.
(1) If you watch just before the collision, the BMW reaches the same rank as the rest of the cars in the row and it is at that exact point when you'd stomp the brake to stop, but it is also exactly when the car roars forward. That was the proximate cause.
(2) Ultimate cause? Watch as it enters the parking lot - the driver uses only their left arm (ie. one hand) to turn the wheel. ie. they were probably ONE THE PHONE too. The pause after the collision was them saying. "Umm .. I think something just happened...".
Dude, that shit's an X5... that's not a station wagon haha. Fucker HAD to be on something.
I was hoping that it might have been intentional, because how incredibly awesome would it have been if the SUV backed up after going up onto the other cars, sat there for a moment, and then did it again at higher speed, making it all the way over, and THEN driving off? I was cheering for it, but then they just drove away. So much for hoping it was a video of a revenge gone right. Just another bad BMW driver. Oh well.
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/717390--terrible-parker-in-viral-video-charged?bn=1
You know what by looking at the video it was an honest mistake, and they probably mistook the accelerator for the brake. But in leaving the scene they're now in big trouble and will be found and fined heavily and probably not be able to drive again.