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[Kevin Wood]

Surely though , however the gears work , if the car can suddenly drive forwards and backwards itself while in Park this should be investigated .
Im not for one minute doubting what Foxy said happened but this has to be a safely issue if the car can decide to drive its self .
Quite worrying really  :-/

Yes, that would be a worrying fault worthy of investigation, however, the automatic gearbox fitted to the Omega is of a type that has been in production, with a series of refinements, for absolutely decades.

If there was a way for it to engage drive / reverse without the selector level on the gearbox moving it would have been resolved long ago. Maybe something unique to the circumstances of Foxy's accident caused the selector lever to move in the impact (although the linkage is oriented to "fail safe") in an impact.

Remember also that, in addition to a gearbox malfunction, the engine needs to be developing significant power for the car to "drive itself" so it requires a stuck throttle to happen at the same time.

Kevin

[Martin_1962]

Car in drive, hand on lever, sudden stop hand thrown forwards - into R

And if reversing and smack - back into drive.

It COULD happen - I know about reverse interlock - maybe the lever was pulled up?

[Lazydocker]

Surely though , however the gears work , if the car can suddenly drive forwards and backwards itself while in Park this should be investigated .
Im not for one minute doubting what Foxy said happened but this has to be a safely issue if the car can decide to drive its self .
Quite worrying really  :-/

Yes, that would be a worrying fault worthy of investigation, however, the automatic gearbox fitted to the Omega is of a type that has been in production, with a series of refinements, for absolutely decades.

If there was a way for it to engage drive / reverse without the selector level on the gearbox moving it would have been resolved long ago. Maybe something unique to the circumstances of Foxy's accident caused the selector lever to move in the impact (although the linkage is oriented to "fail safe") in an impact.

Remember also that, in addition to a gearbox malfunction, the engine needs to be developing significant power for the car to "drive itself" so it requires a stuck throttle to happen at the same time.

Kevin

Which has been confirmed.

I wonder if, in the fast moving and very frightening situation, the gear leaver was caught by anything/hand/other body part :-/ :-/

Foxy, we all feel for you and are trying to fathom out what on earth has happened for the reasons stated by Proz and Kevin... The gearbox shouldn't be able to change from P to anything unaided, never mind from R to D as well. This could be an issue that others need to be aware of.

Unfortunately the written word is so easily misinterpreted and can come across so very badly sometimes.

[Shackeng]

Car in drive, hand on lever, sudden stop hand thrown forwards - into R

And if reversing and smack - back into drive.

It COULD happen - I know about reverse interlock - maybe the lever was pulled up?

Well clearly something caused the selector to move from Park to Reverse to Drive, and, together with a screaming engine, this may have been unwittingly caused by the OP trying to deal with a clearly frightening situation. I think we are all concerned to know what caused it, as otherwise all slush box drivers are at risk.

[JamesV6CDX]

Remember also that, in addition to a gearbox malfunction, the engine needs to be developing significant power for the car to "drive itself" so it requires a stuck throttle to happen at the same time.

Kevin

This is where I'm trying to work out what would have happened.

Anita described that she was putting the car into park, when it happened. Therefore the revs would have been at idle speed.

Even if the throttle cable stuck at this point, it would have been stuck in the closed/tickover position, so wouldn't produce the power to cause an accident of this magnitude, or prevent the car from being stopped on the brake pedal.

Either way, whatever the cause, I'm sure everyone will join me in wishing Anita all the best. The main thing is you are unhurt.

Kind regards,
James

[Bent valve]

The throttle may have stuck open due to a dodgy cable, but someone had to press it far enough down to make the engine scream.

Sounds like a typical confused old folks type of crash in an auto where some old dear stuffs her car through a shop window after confusing the brake with the throttle.

Honest John from the Telegraph advocates using both feet when driving an auto to prevent exactly this type of accident. Cant say I agree with him though :-/

[JamesV6CDX]

The throttle may have stuck open due to a dodgy cable, but someone had to press it far enough down to make the engine scream.

That's what I was getting at, I guess - even if the throttle stuck - it sounds like it would have done so in the idle position, (as the vehicle was being put into 'P') so I'm trying to work out how the throttle opened in the first place?

[Shackeng]

The throttle may have stuck open due to a dodgy cable, but someone had to press it far enough down to make the engine scream.

Sounds like a typical confused old folks type of crash in an auto where some old dear stuffs her car through a shop window after confusing the brake with the throttle.

Honest John from the Telegraph advocates using both feet when driving an auto to prevent exactly this type of accident. Cant say I agree with him though :-/

I must admit to often using left foot braking, it can be quite useful.

[Bent valve]

The throttle may have stuck open due to a dodgy cable, but someone had to press it far enough down to make the engine scream.

That's what I was getting at, I guess - even if the throttle stuck - it sounds like it would have done so in the idle position, (as the vehicle was being put into 'P') so I'm trying to work out how the throttle opened in the first place?

My guess is she put it in reverse instead of park by mistake, and when it started to move backwards she floored the throttle by mistake instead of the brake, probably causing it to stick in the process

[Andy B]

The throttle may have stuck open due to a dodgy cable, but someone had to press it far enough down to make the engine scream.

Sounds like a typical confused old folks type of crash in an auto where some old dear stuffs her car through a shop window after confusing the brake with the throttle.

Honest John from the Telegraph advocates using both feet when driving an auto to prevent exactly this type of accident. Cant say I agree with him though :-/

I must admit to often using left foot braking, it can be quite useful.

I almost always use two feet. Braking with your left foot does take some practice though.   

[Shackeng]

The throttle may have stuck open due to a dodgy cable, but someone had to press it far enough down to make the engine scream.

Sounds like a typical confused old folks type of crash in an auto where some old dear stuffs her car through a shop window after confusing the brake with the throttle.

Honest John from the Telegraph advocates using both feet when driving an auto to prevent exactly this type of accident. Cant say I agree with him though :-/

I must admit to often using left foot braking, it can be quite useful.

I almost always use two feet. Braking with your left foot does take some practice though.   

Agreed, but after driving autos for the last 15 years, it comes naturally now.

[Andy B]

The throttle may have stuck open due to a dodgy cable, but someone had to press it far enough down to make the engine scream.

Sounds like a typical confused old folks type of crash in an auto where some old dear stuffs her car through a shop window after confusing the brake with the throttle.

Honest John from the Telegraph advocates using both feet when driving an auto to prevent exactly this type of accident. Cant say I agree with him though :-/

I must admit to often using left foot braking, it can be quite useful.

I almost always use two feet. Braking with your left foot does take some practice though.   

Agreed, but after driving autos for the last 15 years, it comes naturally now.

Like wise. 
Although driving a 3 pedal car every day has caused some confusion in the feet/left hand dept  :-?     

[Jimbob]

The cause of the acceleration was why I asked about cruise, thinking if an electrical fault managed to fully pull the cable in, assuming it has the power to.  Doesnt help on the gearbox position though.

[Andy B]

I can see this 'on-line investigation' leading to tears!   

[Lazydocker]

I can see this 'on-line investigation' leading to tears!   

Unfortunately I think it already has