>> ^AdrianBlack:

Pink was taken.




yea, they got on with a union and never left that sweet job. Somewhat akin to Celine Dion and las Vegas.

>> ^Njal:

Why are these kind of recordings always such shitty quality?
It's like they tap the phone line, put the call on speakerphone and then recorded with a tape recorder. If it was recorded on the 911 phone operators end why isn't even that voice clear?


they might use tapes still , also they probably record at a low bit rate to save on space.

The Prius that was in the news recently, here in San Diego, the conventional brakes were useless, and shifting to neutral wouldn't work, as it wouldn't allow it. What was successful, according to the CHP, was a very zealous tug on the hand brake (definitely an "emergency" brake in this case) as well as the foot pedal. The officer positioned his car in front, not to slow it down, but to prevent it from shooting forward after the driver finally got the car to a stop, despite it still wanting to move forward. Essentially the squad car was acting as a brick wall, but not a brake assist.

In this case, the car would not shift into neutral, nor did foot braking alone make a difference. It was muscle on the hand brake that ever so slowly dropped the speed.

You are correct about the first casualty. It was a Lexus and it happened in Santee, CA (part of San Diego County). The brake and neutral attempt were useless. The situation is described thus:

---
California Highway Patrol Officer Mark Saylor, 45, his wife, Cleofe, 45, their daughter Mahala, 13, and Cleofe's brother Chris Lastrella, 39, were traveling on a freeway near Santee on Aug. 28 when their vehicle reached speeds of more than 120 mph, hit a sport utility vehicle, launched off an embankment, rolled several times and burst into flames.

Investigators found that a wrong-sized floor mat that trapped the accelerator was the cause of the crash. (Note, this has not been forensically proven, and is in dispute at the moment.)

A haunting 911 call captured Lastrella telling the others to pray before the car launched off the embankment.

...the Lexus ES350 "began to accelerate on its own." Saylor attempted to apply the brakes and do everything possible to stop the car, but he was unable to do so...
---

The video demonstrated the "technique" on a relatively low horse power (and low torque) four cylinder engine. A Lexus ES350 has a 272HP V6 (at full throttle) and the Prius has a high torque electric motor. Good luck with that braking.

>> ^silvercord:
>> ^supersparky:
What this article fails to include are the unique issues with the hybrid cars. Oddly enough, two have gone out of control in my home city, San Diego. The first being a death, which started the publicity. This one was driven by an off duty cop! I would think his training would have given him these skills to stop the car. However, as more and more facts have come out, the brakes it seems are useless. The Prius uses a combination of electrical and mechanical braking. Unfortunately the mechanical only kicks in under a certain speed.
Many people have reported burying the brake pedal to the floor and it having little effect. They also seem to not be able to shift into neutral, as it's a drive by wire system. Many cars don't let you shut off the engine if it's in gear too.
The Prius, while being a butt ugly eye sore and gutless wonder, also has an electric motor. These have 100% of their torque at any RPM. This means a gas engine can be fought and stalled with functional brakes, but you fight the full torgue of an electric motor all the way down to stopping, if you're lucky.
No, a fail-safe override needs to be considered for all drive by wire vehicles. Something that actually physically disconnects power from the system as a last resort.

My understanding is that the car driven by the off duty officer was a 2009 Lexus ES 350. That is not a hybrid. That said, I tried the 'move the shift to neutral' trick yesterday in my Windstar and it worked just fine.
However, the link I provided also noted: Last month, Consumer Reports found that models that don't have so-called smart-throttle technology, which allows the brake to take precedence over the throttle, a vehicle might not have adequate brakes to overcome a stuck throttle at 60 mph.
So, jam your foot down on the brake and kick it into neutral, pray like hell that you hit a truckload of Snuggies.
As for the electric cars, maybe a nuclear air burst that issues an effective electromagnetic pulse would do the trick.

>> ^Zonbie:
Ok...now go to Daddy...is he still breathing? ok. Can you see his wallet? Ok, now have a look and see...yes $300.00 ok, now stuff it into the phone piece...
If everyone went with the Californian approach...

ooooooooo...topical

Just for some perspective...I've lived in California all my life, and I've never heard of Tracy, California. The good spots still have the free emergency services (but the trade-off is a semi-rigid police state)>> ^Stormsinger:
This kind of thing is exactly why California isn't on my list of areas I'm willing to relocate to in my job search. The disastrous political system there has put them in the situation where their basic infrastructure is collapsing, and having a job isn't going to do much good if you can't get the necessities to stay alive.

>> ^demon_ix:
I see a golden opportunity in establishing a new 911 insurance business! I'll charge $38 a year and if they need a 911 call i'll pay the $300!
Although, odds are I'll find some way to get out of paying it. Huge legal contracts ftw!


i think what you're describing is called a protection racket.

"gee, nice house you got here. it would be a real shame if it were to just catch fire all of a sudden"

I see a golden opportunity in establishing a new 911 insurance business! I'll charge $38 a year and if they need a 911 call i'll pay the $300!

Although, odds are I'll find some way to get out of paying it. Huge legal contracts ftw!

>> ^TheFreak:
Awesome. Notice how the news report of the incident conflicts with the actual video.
Apparently the folks with scarfs were "anti-war protesters dressed in anarchist garb" and that innocent detective "pulled back his jacket, exposing his service weapon [and] it's unclear if he did this intentionally". In fact, the only drawn gun mentioned in the article is the uniformed officer responding to a 911 call about an armed man.
Of course in the video you can clearly see a gun in the detectives hand.
You definitely have to commend the uniformed officers for their handling of this incident. That detective, on the other hand, should be crucified. Doubtful he'll even get a warning.


My point exactly, thank you. I forgot to mention the fact that the other officer could have killed the man for having a gun.

If I were put in that situation the detective would have been treated as a suspect, and handcuffed. Any one with a weapon is treated this way, because they are a threat to public safety, and you can never be sure that the detective isn't a fake. Sounds cliche, I know, but its just how it works.

The officers did not do their jobs in controlling the rogue man with a gun.

Conduct unbecoming.

Awesome. Notice how the news report of the incident conflicts with the actual video.

Apparently the folks with scarfs were "anti-war protesters dressed in anarchist garb" and that innocent detective "pulled back his jacket, exposing his service weapon [and] it's unclear if he did this intentionally". In fact, the only drawn gun mentioned in the article is the uniformed officer responding to a 911 call about an armed man.

Of course in the video you can clearly see a gun in the detectives hand.

You definitely have to commend the uniformed officers for their handling of this incident. That detective, on the other hand, should be crucified. Doubtful he'll even get a warning.

This video has been declared a duplicate; transferring votes to the original video and killing this dupe - dupeof declared by silvercord.

*dupeof=http://www.videosift.com/video/Flying-drone-spies-on-marijuana-users-and-Ooops-911-call

Partial dupe of this: http://www.videosift.com/video/Flying-drone-spies-on-marijuana-users-and-Ooops-911-call
Can someone * dupeof this bad boy over?

Pedos deserve to get beaten, but I'm concerned about the time-line... how did those two guys know they had the right guy? They make it sound like a considerable amount of time (15-20 minutes perhaps) passed between the event and when the kids "ran home and called the cops."

I mean, unless they live right around the corner, how long does it take an average 911 call to be answered?

Don't get me wrong, if that was the actual guy, he got what he deserved, I just feel that the details are a bit iffy.

>> ^cybrbeast:
So extremely ridiculous for the Netherlands to start using these drones. Sure the sale from coffeeshops and use of marijuana is legal. But the growing is illegal and somehow the government feels like it's a good idea to go after all the growers. The only sound somewhat rational reason for this is that many growers steal electricity and some are a fire hazard. The solution, legalize or decriminalize the growing, not this stupid enforcement. Or in the very least make enforcement a non-priority.
I'm curious as to how effective the drones are and if I should be worried for my small personal grow-op. Though apparently they are only supposed to use it when they suspect large scale growing in a certain area.


The laws that allow a coffee shop to sell pot were put in place when the Dutch government was a lot more progressive. Since then, the conservatives have come into power (as they usually do everywhere, on a wave of xenophobia, intolerance, and fear - their relationship with the Muslim world has been more strained because of them), and they have stopped issuing new coffee shop licenses - there are no more new coffee shops springing up. There are ways around the legalese (for example, a marijuana seed bank needs no license to sell seeds, or to give away samples of pot to its potential seed clients), but the conservatives are doing what they can to tighten their grasp of the citizenry.

>> ^rottenseed:
The cop was totally right...you can't be cursing on the telephone that's just bad manners!


If someone personally calls you and swears, not at you, but swears. You have every right to hang up.

But when your answering 911 calls.. you should EXPECT to hear some swearing, and hanging up is absolutely NOT part of your job. Even if it is a foul mouthed teenager.