What really pissed me of about the actual video after just blatant disregard for vehicle safety was he talked all about what happened to the car to himself and the driver. Nothing about the aftermath of the innocent person they hit.

The outcome of the video was 100% avoidable. They didn't have brake failure, they had operator error.

I can’t imagine being so casual with the throttle sticking on a 1300hp car “just tap it and it will fix itself”. If it happened once it can happen again.

I wouldn't drive a 1982 Toyota Tercel if I knew the throttle was sticking. If someone suggested to me that we drive a 1300 horsepower, $100k+ Mercury Comet with a stuck throttle, I'd punch them in the nuts.

If a throttle sticks during a build it should be fixed before it hits the road. Things like this could cause a fatality.

its textbook brake fade. that video is the perfect example of it. once they decided to ignore the accelerator pedal issue, they fully assumed full liability of anything that happened after that.

Good response! There is an old time saying, “The most dangerous thing in the car is the loose nut behind the wheel.” That saying applied 100% in this video. Lots of people were trying to blame the front disk brakes for being two small. WRONG. When you look at the amount of distance he went using those brakes to retard the 900 hp that engine was putting to the ground at somewhere between 35 and 45 mph, this little baby brakes gave a pretty darn good performance. Not only do you get the brake fluid boiling issue which negates the force the calipers can place on the brakes, you also have the issue that when the brake pads reach temperatures ranging from about 450 to 650 degrees Fahrenheit, the linings them selves start loosing their friction capability because they can no longer absorb additional heat and disparate it. When they reach 750 F The lining material itself starts to out gas and some of the bonding materials in the pads themselves start breaking down and coming free then getting between the pad and the rotor. When that happens, it forms a lubricating layer between the rotor and the brake lining material and the linings can no longer effectively grip the rotor or drum braking surface. So the begin to or stop working. Racing brakes can tolerate much higher temperatures, but street use breaks basically go away at temperatures between 650 and 750 degrees. The brake burning smell usually begins between 550 and 650 degrees F. If I remember correctly, brake fluid can begin to boil at temperatures above 350 to 550 degrees F. My information is a little dated, so the numbers may be a little off, or a bit low, but I don’t think they have changed that much. My information came from a published white paper study done on in service semi trucks descending the wheeler grade on I-5 in California. The results of that study not only surprised the researchers, it surprised a number of truckers in the study. The general way the study was done is selected trucks were stopped at the top of the grade, the brakes were checked and the brake temperatures were recorded, and the drivers were instructed to proceed down the mountain exactly how they would normally descend the grade. Then at the bottom of the grade, they were asked to stop at a measurement station so the researchers could reinspect the brakes and measure the increase in temperatures. It turned out, a number of the drivers often used foot braking to retard their speeds down the hill verses engine or other energy absorbing retarder systems. In most cases, these drivers had descended the grade previously multiple times without incident. When the measurements were taken, a significant number of the measured trucks had significantly elevated brake temperature readings. The measured readings were indicating a notable amount of total braking capacity had been degraded due to heat build up. Some had trouble coming to a complete stop in the test site. A few were unable to stop and passed by the test sight and could not stop until a considerable additional distance had been covered. The staff was particularly interested in those trucks. And they chased them down and immediately recorded the brake temperatures. They tested enough trucks to gather a useful and significant sample size. One of the findings was many of the drivers did not realize how their method of descending the grad had used up a large portion of their reserve braking capacity due to the heat build up in the brakes. When they attempted to stop at the bottom of the grade, their brakes no longer had the capacity to absorb and dissipate the braking energy needed to stop in the intended location. It was a sobering event and education for a number of drivers. At the end of the day, the brakes on this Comet were sufficient to stop the car under normal conditions, but they were no match for a seriously defective throttle, about 600 plus hp applied continuously for and extended period of time and the loose nut behind the wheel.

The fact that those idiots spoke more about the car than mentioning the victims and making sure they were alright chapped me more. They were both very selfish and bad people.

Most car guys know their car inside and out..and you know when there is a problem you pull over and deal with it .. I have a 70 Chevelle and 57 Belair and I know my cars..and if something is wrong it's being delt with.. I don't want to destroy my rides or kill me or someone else.. you make Make good points..👍

When I was a kid I helped my gramps (a true motorhead) put a small block in his 66 Chevy ii . We were driving back to gramps and grandma's and the linkage on the carb disconnected in such a way that the the carb went wide open. We went from 50 to 90 in seconds . I was scared we were approaching a curve in the road known as deadmans curve. A guy was decapitated on a motorcycle when he was hit on that curve by a garbage truck and pushed Infront of a log truck that also hit him. Gramps the old swede who was about the age I am now just turned the key off . That simple. TURN THE KEY OFF COAST TO A STOP . a lesson learned . I had to do that same thing a decade ago when a modern drive by (not a fan) wire suddenly throttled up . In town on a surface street .

I find that the more I work on cars, the more responsible driver I become. When people can just buy that kind of power, without having a good understanding of it, that leads to disaster. But you're right, we all pay for the mistakes of a few, and that's not going to change.

I couldn't agree with you more. Here in Australia the exact same thing has happened where someone does something stupid and it spoils it for the rest of us. That comet wouldn't be legal here with that blower sticking out that high. I've always said no point making a car go if you can stop it.

People who build cars would recognize right away something ain’t right and would have stopped. A lot of people who spend 100k+ to have a car built don’t know much about cars and would not recognize problems and assume that it must just be the way this car works. There are quite a bit of posers in the hot rod game.

Well said DD. if your going to build a car like that, something gets wonkie stop and fix it. End of story no excuses. Wise up out there people!!!

Well put man... you're spot on about Uncle Tony's take on this. I'm pretty sure that guy went to Richard Rawlings School of High Performance Driving.

Well said my friend. Our culture is already under attack enough without these kind of things happening.

The older I get the less HP I want.

Uncle Tony really did excellent at going over this crazy event too. Great job dude

6:50 I love that almost every DD Speed Shop project starts with going through the suspension and brakes...and it may be boring but it's necessary to say the least... and a good place to start, before you even get a engine in the car... 👍

I agree 100% with you, I myself drive older vehicles and understand things like foot feeds hanging up, carburetor stumbles and the older brakes don't stop as good as modern brakes do but I take all of these things into account when I drive. I see a lot of young people drive them like a new vehicle and it's scary.

Put car in neutral , take out of gear , using parking brake. Guy stated the throttle was sticking before so why did he drive it.

At some point we've probably all driven a vehicle that shouldn't be on the road and/ or driven like an idiot. Personally I am guilty of both, so I'm in no position to be critical of the events leading up to the incident. What bothers me is the total lack of accountability from either of those two dorks after the collision. Trying to pass the blame onto the car only damages the car hobby. It wasn't brake failure, it was brain failure. I don't care if your vehicle has the best brakes and safety equipment in the world, a vehicle is still only as safe as the person behind the wheel. Publicly blaming the machinery is just asking for more regulations

Amen. First things we did to our 68 Barracuda before Power Tour 2003 was front disc brakes, all new suspension pieces, and tires. The 340 was tired and used a lot of oil over the tour but we never had any issues stopping and turning. Thanks for speaking out.

Completely agree with you, I tell young guys that ask how do I get started building one those? My number one rule to tell them is make sure it's safe to drive, cosmetically you go crazy with it

I've been saying same thing about a lot of "Rat Rods" . There are too many that are extremely dangerous cars thrown together from wannabe mechanics.

Spot on Dan. It is nice to see KZfaqrs such as yourself and UT spreading the word on how this could have been avoided.

They knew the car was insanely powerful. They knew the car had an abnormal shifter that prevented downshifting or going in neutral. They knew the throttle was sticking. I presume if they know anything about cars, they knew you can turn the ignition off at any time, and that brake fade is a thing. They blatantly ignored an entire pile of warning signs to just NOT GO. I hope these guys get railroaded in criminal and civil court for the absolutely disgusting amount of negligence displayed. Sadly there's probably no scenario where the passenger loses his driving license, but I would like to see both of them go without for a very long time.

This video is ON POINT... Thank you for putting this out. I now have even more respect for you as a rodder.

I saw the complete video before Uncle Tony commented on it. (Saw him too) I agree totally with you and Tony. One apple is going to spoil it for all. The owner and the passenger should have just shut it down as soon as the throttle was sticking! Thanks for posting you take. The more people think on this, the more this should not happen. (Accidents that could have been prevented) Be safe Dan!

I honestly wasn't impressed when I read about and watched the video of this incident. Don't call it an accident. It wasn't an accident. People can talk about brakes and safety and bad decisions all they like. I've had throttles stick on me before but those were unexpected occurrences and very different causes. But no matter what has happened the first thing to do is kill the ignition. Throttle sticks, kill the ignition. But willfully going for a drive with a known sticking throttle? That's a whole new level of bad decision. Those of you who want to throw it in neutral or are worried about the power brakes or power steering, don't comment. You lack experience and mechanical knowledge regarding vehicles over 200 horsepower. Go get some experience and mechanical knowledge before commenting.

Well said Dan! Having worked a a mechanic for 27 years i know the importance of regular inspections and maintenance so every spring I do a bumper to bumper inspection checking everything from brakes, suspension, steering and electrical. It usually only takes me a full day to go over the whole car but at the end I'm 100% confident that i can drive the car and have peace of mind that the car is safe to drive. i also keep a log book outlining the inspection and my findings and any repairs i had to make so that if anything should go wrong i have data showing i did my due diligence.

Great video. First timer here, I came here from Uncle Tony's Garage. Love these garage channels. I'm restoring my '67 Corvair.

You're so right, we all end up paying in restrictive laws because of moronic stupidity, no matter what the situation. There is a distinct lack of common sense in play these days and was definitely worth your while commenting on Dan.

100% agree. Our state used to have annual safety inspections for all vehicles. Now they don’t and it is scary what people will drive.

That car builder had the exact same outlook as the OceanGate owner. "If you put a ton of money into something, nothing will go wrong."

You just got a like and sub from a fellow Canadian. Love UTG also, and you nailed this vid just by sharing the truth about all the risks we all face for the clueless few with more money/ego/whatever than brains. Cheers from Calgary.

Just like guns, it’s not the “machine” it’s the operator.

WELL SAID !! Unfortunately in a lot of cases YOU CANT FIX STUPID!!!

First time I was driving a car at speed and the brakes went out I turned off the ignition. I was only 16 but I had more sense than the driver of that car. Not sure how much it would have helped in that case but it damn sure wouldn't have hurt.

Totally agree, I've seen so many out there have an accident because they tried to make it to next destination knowing the car wasn't ok. Just stop man it's not worth the heartache of an accident or worse.

Last time my throttle stuck I turned the key to the OFF position !!! Simple things work !!!

1300 horsepower, wheelie bars, 200+ thousand invested and it'll never see a drag strip. President of the more money than brains club right there. I knew from the second that guy opened his mouth and started spouting off that he was one of those "car guys". Really hard to feel sorry for him. He commented on the video on Autotopia's YT page about how he should've recognized the issues with the car, the no e-brake issue and then states how the car had liability but no collision. Barely a mention of the driver that he hit other than "as far as I know the driver of the van is ok". What an egotistical douchecanoe.

The "you're the idiot" section at the end struck a chord with me. We, as individuals, need to bear our responsibility. Period. With everything. So, running around the streets in a car with OVER A THOUSAND HORSEPOWER and a STUCK THROTTLE is STUPID. So is driving drunk. I myself have nearly been t-boned by someone entering a highway while TALKING ON THEIR CELL PHONE. I have also done stupid stuff - but I take ownership of the consequences also.

I watched the original video and I watched Uncle Tony's video on this and I agree with him. People can say what they want but this situation was completely avoidable and just comes down to pure stupididty. It's a shame because that car was gorgeous.

Couldn't have said it better. I'm glad you posted this and 100% accurate. We all thought the same while watching that comment video, the red flags screamed out yet the push was still to get footage and drive the car and not address the basic warning signs that any car enthusiast should react too.

The USA welcomes you, Dan & Dani! Let freedom ring!

I'm just revisiting this. It was the first DD Speedshop video I ever watched. Been watching ever since

You are absolutely right. Uncle Tony was correct. That guy had no business behind that wheel and a 1300 hp car in traffic. But we all have to pay for it in the end.

Your so right Dan. 👍🏻Thanks for sharing.

I agree with most of what UTG said, but on some cars, turning off the ignition can lock the steering wheel and kill the power steering (you'll be surprised on even a light car how hard it is to turn). and if it's a stick shift trans, there's no torque convertor to free wheel, you can just "push start" the engine again. better to go into Neutral, bang on the rev limiter, and search for the grassy knoll--better to hit parked cars than occupied ones. I remember when car magazines even told their readers to have TWO throttle return springs in case the rusty OEM one broke. But in a world where someone can slap together an 800 hp turbo LS into a POS to keep up with video channels like Autotopia and Nelson Racing Engines (NRE) where the HP numbers just keep going up and up (which is why I liked the old Big Muscle videos, some vehicles were crazy but many were "normal")...and honestly, the roadkill type where someone gets a dead car running and then drives it "dirty" (no insurance etc) rather than blow $200 on a truck and trailer with a trip thru the carwash to blow out the hornets' nest turn me off too. A lot of viewers copy what they see. And those of us pointing out the pitfalls sound like "safety nannies" until a video like the 1300hp Comet come to show what can and does happen when you save a buck. remember, the next time you're at the track and complaining about the tech check, the old saying...."racetrack rules are written in the blood of drivers before you"

Great points. The driver was in denial until he tagged the van ahead, hoping he could pull off to the left . . .

Uncle Tony's video was good and he held his temper don't think I could. I'm a retired chiropractor people die at 5MPH or are injured for life. I personally had a less than 20mph and stopping, the impact gave me a compression fracture middle neck, T11 and T12. 35 years later I continue to hurt, every day.

Dan, you are 100% correct with what you are saying. Yes it's true, it doesn't take much to ruin things for Hot Rodding. The rules are getting stronger over years and not in our favor ☹

Play stupid games win stupid prizes....and lastly just because you can afford a car like that doesn't mean you should own one

Over the last few years, I've been using the saying "Common sense isn't common anymore" holds true to about everything these days...

Well put Dan...fully agree!!!

HI Dan I just watched Uncle Tony' s video. He's right and your right! People need to pull their heads out of their asses!

18 hrs ago a whole live stream was done by them on the issue. I do not think you can say they have not accepted any responsibility based on what I saw. And in any event, ultimate responsibility rests with the person at the wheel no matter what anyone else says because no matter what you say to them, they still have to control the car. So... Shawn could only do so much as a passenger and its the owners job to know their car, not just operate it.

I've been there, that is why we do test drives. There is no way I would endangered anybody by continuing with a sticking throttle. Things turn from bad to worse to quickly, the passenger should have gotten out to impress the severity of the problems... PERIOD! Thank U.T.G, You and all the other responsible builders out there.

Spot on, totally agree. And you're right, we all pay for these idiot moves. Living in Quebec, needless to say more.

I watch that other channel and enjoy it immensely. They did a q&a last night and it seems to be a four man crew that does the channel. Something that astonish me was out of all these car guys that they’d never had or heard of a issue like this before. I guess that’s the price of privilege. That when you jump into this hobby straight at the top levels that you don’t get these low level learning experiences that teach you the hard lessons. Those guys fortunate to start at the top level of cars we may never ever own can still have the same love and passion as us. But they don’t have the sense of warning signs that have bite all of us that had got us on a $500 hoopty. Instead they pay a bigger price for that knowledge when these problems arise. If regular people got to really look over some of these cars we see in videos and pictures that we lust over. Then it would be glaringly obvious that shortcuts and common sense things have been overlooked on these multi hundred grand builds. All these are tough lessons that if you stay in the hobby long enough you learn. It’s just unfortunate that all the guys in the video learned all these things for the first time and on video. The only thing now that can happen is that this can be an ah ha moment for people to learn from this without experiencing it themselves first hand.

Hey DD my thoughts being a hot rod owner. 1: when you build a hot rod with this much horsepower he should’ve addressed the brakes first and foremost 2: when he knew the throttle was sticking he should’ve pulled over and tried fixing it 3: he should’ve never drove it riding the brakes

That's part of the reason I stopped building cars for other people, by the time you learn how to build a level of performance you have learned to respect the machine and what its capable of. Buying a finished car doesn't give you any experience or respect for how dangerous it is.

When he said "ive been riding the brakes all this time to keep the car at speed limit" is when they shouldve stopped immediately.

I agree that loss of freedom starts with small changes that seem inconsequential. This is why most people don't see it as a problem. If my car feels weird I don't drive it. A 3000 lbs metal brick just might leave a small mark. Sheesh even 400hp is enough power to lose control easily

I'm totally with you on that. Growing up that's why we lost Hot Rodding because of idiots. We could also blame the Monopoly our insurance company also has on losing a lot of classics. All because one person screws it up and someone else can profit off of it.

I'm glad you addressed this topic because if the community doesn't educate and police themselves we all know who will.

There was a lot of foreshadowing in the "Autopia" video.The guy mentions that "I'd like to get some bigger brakes" and "I don't want to take it to the track and hit a wall",etc. I have watched that vid a bunch of times and it serves as a reality check for me. When I was about 19 or 20, I drove a '64 Rambler for about 6 miles with no brake pedal.All I had was low gear and the E brake. By some act of God I made it home (in traffic!) safely,but I'll be diddely damned if I'll EVER do that again! It's one thing to smack a $500 clunker into a tree, but I can't imagine hitting an occupied vehicle with a mega-dollar hot rod.Food for thought.

Operator failure to recognize and react to a problem, no excuses for them.

for many instances around here, it is to hard for many to put the phone down.

I agree with you and Tony. The car was throwing up all of the red flags and the inexperienced driver was ignoring them. I had a full brake failure in a 78 Caprice years ago. Luckily it happened as I got onto the interstate. Pulled over, found the failure, couldn't fix it there with what I had. Limped it 32 miles to the house, low speed, hazards on, fully ready to put it in the ditch at any time. Got it home safe and spent three days replacing every brake line on the car. Drove it for three years after that with zero issues anywhere on the car and then sold it. Lesson learned and skills sharpened

This guy really knows what he‘s talking about. I am proud of his view and it‘s 100% accurate. Earned urself a new sub :D

If someone has the ability to build or buy a car like that they should also have the good sense to not drive it when is not working correctly.

This video pissed me off knowing what I know about brake fade. Surely that dude would have known that was coming if he pushed forward. I feel for the person they hit. I had just been rear ended and had my Astro Van totalled a couple days before that video came out. Fortunately no serious injuries for me or the dude that hit me. Still fresh on my mind. I miss my Astro.

Here in the UK we have the MOT, which is the annual safety inspection for any car over 3 years old that covers brakes, suspension and steering, exhaust, safety restraints, the fuel system and a bunch of other things like lights and horn, but a car is exempt from MOT if it's 40 years old, with the clause that you must still perform due diligence and make sure the most important parts of the car are functional, like the brakes, if too many people became too lax with their attention to safe classic motoring that exemption could be reconsidered by the government and it could put a ton of classic cars at risk of being scrapped if their owners couldn't afford to get them 100% up to spec with modern MOT rules.

What you say at the end is true. I had an actual experience where I worked at a dealer and did a service including a brake flush. When I got back in the car to drive away the brakes were way too soft. I can’t believe I sat in the car halfway out of my bay and contemplated whether or not I should ship the car. Thankfully, I got my head right that moment and put the car back on the lift

Great video. Well said. We need to protect what’s left of the the hot rod culture for our kids to have a chance at experiencing building and driving their own creations. Thanks for sharing Dan.

At first I was going to disagree with your video bc I saw that video a couple weeks ago BUT, after seeing your view made me reanalyze the video and as someone who loves working on trucks I completely agree with you and they had so many opportunities and signs to stop and check things out.

You nailed it Dan, great video!

Dan, good to hear your thoughts. All spot on and UT did a great job dissecting it too. This crash happened in my back yard and the fire engine is from the dept I just retired from. I have responded to thousands of accidents in 35 years and been in a bad one myself. Some of these accidents have been really bad classic car/hot rod wrecks just like this Comet. It is a kick to the gut seeing the carnage! This one went beyond two (supposed) car guys out for a cruise, it should have triggered some common sense as they both realized there were several red flags. Ignoring all of that, they put others in jeopardy and impacted others. I have a B&M Ratchet Shifter, you can downshift it, put it in neutral or more realistically, just kill the ignition. Nope, just continue accelerating and brace for impact...🤦‍♂️

Turn the key off

YES! Ignoring all the red flags was the problem. The incident was just the result of all that. Also let's not forget he didn't have collision insurance either. It should have NOT been on public roads. PERIOD.

Spot on with your "mass punishment for all, because of the stupidity of a few" Roger's Hot Rod Garage

we have many of those laws as well varies from state to state ( don't move to California lol )

Dan very well said.

Hey dude it’s been awhile since I’ve visited your channel. Good job on the garage not being an eye sore anymore,👍

From what you're saying Canada sounds a lot like Australia when it comes to insurance costs and fines. The one thing that stood out to me when I visited the states about ten years ago was how much you could modify your car and still be cool to drive it . We used to have more relaxed rules when it come to cars but , yep, sure enough a few clowns ruined it for the rest of us . One thing that stood out on that clip of the Mercury was how was the driver of the car they hit ? Not a word . What if they'd had hit a small car with a child sitting in the backseat or even worse unrestrained. It's horrible to think about what could've happened .. anyway , such is life I guess . Glad I found your channel dude .

when I watched the actual video first thing I said the minute the throttle stuck he should have stopped and fixed it

That's what happens when you have more money than brains !!!!

Turn the wheel all the way really fast in the safest direction. Break the back wheels loose to initiate sideways slide, counter steer to keep it there. ...= STOP

100% agree with you, this was an issue with two guys ignoring the warnings signs of what was going to happen!

sorry dan, we have all of those rules in the states, don't move here thinking you can drive what you want when you want. the youtubers in the u.s. doing revive and drives and the like are driving cars illegally on their channels in most cases. i rural areas it's easier to do that and not get caught because there is no one to catch you. most states have safety and emission inspections every year to keep unsafe cars off of the road and you must pass that to even register a used car. you do not see rust buckets or smoking deathtraps here, because they are not allowed. those revive and drive channels are just not telling you what they are doing is illegal. a few years ago a video came out of a guy admitting he got caught operating a car illegally because he posted it on you tube.

I like HP as much as the next guy but has to be done right and as you said not so much brake failure than brake neglect and stupidity

Good talk man. Love your channel. Hopefully one day mine will be half as popular as yours!! I run a full time restoration shop in the states. Truth is probably close to 50% of the cars that come in for work have systems that i would say are unsafe. No inspections of any kind here in Oklahoma. Honestly there should be.

Dan, you nailed it!! The road IS NOT a place for stupidity!!!

I saw that video and wondered why the driver didn’t swerve right, across the curb and into the trees beside the building. Also, the van driver might’ve been able to run the light if the Comet operator had been on his horn as soon as he lost his brakes. I had a ‘65 Wildcat’s carb stick wide open when a engine mount broke. I was 16 and not an experienced driver, I immediately turned the car off.

Well said! Uncle Tony’s take was spot on also. “The Stupid Tax” haha, I love that term!

Back in my misspent youth, Ihada buddy who was seriously into BMW bikes.. I had moved to Las Vegas, and he still lived in Portland. He shows up at my place one weekend with BMW, 1000cc, bike which was teh duplicate of one which had been built specifically to set the class record for teh 24-hour run at Daytona. Beast of a machine. I had zero hours on shaft drive bikes, and he told me to take it for a run. This thing had insane torque steer get into the throttle it wanted to lay over, come off the throttle, it would try to lay down on the other side. I rode it out onto a twisty turns along Lake Mead, and started to push it a bit. I almost laid it dwon twice, before i decided that common sense was overcoming my Macho, and took it off the pavement and down side road where I hid it in a culvert and hitchhiked back inot town. He went ape when I came back without his bike. He calmed down when I told him I had left it hidden and we could goo back out, and he could ride it home. I’ve always figured that if something is broke or not working right you fix it, only exception was racers on track, and even then I’d usually drop the race and tweak out the car. I never felt rich enough to wreck a car I had thousands, and hundreds of hours in getting it prepped, chasing a $200 dollar trophy.

The original poster was asking about the brake smell. The driver knew about riding the brakes. As soon as he noticed the throttle sticking issue he should have parked it. That being said, both of these guys went ahead and posted the video so that others may learn from their mistake, and for that I applaud them. 👏

I watched that video the other day. I was actually pretty frustrated with the whole thing. Throttle was hanging causing him to ride the questionable brakes all while playing in traffic. No wonder why the guy had multiple divorces while building the car. They wanted no part of that death trap or the possible legal consequences of it.😂