Why Can My Car Move When I'm Not in It?


Jonathan Yarmis from AMR Research just told the story of someone who visited his house to pick up some kids and forgot to put the car in park. She went in the house as her car took off down the driveway. It ran over a power transformer and then crossed the street and came to rest 150 yards into the trees on the other side of the road. The woman became aware that her car was on the move when Mercedes called her to tell her that it's airbags had just deployed (the power went off first, but that clue was less specific). My question: why can a car move when no one is sitting in the seat? Why not tie the airbag sensors to the transmission? There could be an override for cases where the sensor failed.


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Last modified: Thu Oct 10 12:47:18 2019.