Driver Error: Lexus Accelerates Without Driver Inside It After Being Left In Drive Mode

The cause for the Lexus ES to accelerate away on its own is unknown yet, but there could be just one justification for what happened — driver error. The video starts off with the Lexus pulling up at the house.

The driver then stays in the car for nearly 20 seconds before opening the door and getting out of the car. Immediately after the driver got out, the Lexus accelerated rapidly and went down the driveway, crossing the road and finally coming to a halt after hitting a couple of large dustbins.

There could be only one way this entire incident happened —The driver left the gear selector in ‘drive' mode and got out.

In the Indian market, the number of cars driven by automatic gearboxes are increasing at an alarming rate. In almost all international markets though, manual transmissions are a rarity. Some manufacturers, including Lexus, all have only automatic gearboxes in their product portfolio.

Automatic gearboxes are brilliant in traffic and for everyday driving, but one also has to be extremely cautious while driving one. One might think it is unintended acceleration, but it is actually driver error that makes such cars go berserk.

Like in this case, the Lexus ES was on the edge of a slope and once the driver got out with the car in drive mode, the lexus accelerated as usual. Though the sedan hit the edge of the driveway, it wasn't enough to hold it back as the slope was too steep.

The decline further sped up the car which then crossed the road and finally came to a halt after hitting the large garbage bins. Crashing into the garbage bins might have activated the airbags and killed the engine, causing it to stop.

More details of the incident are unknown at the moment. The Lexus ES is the previous-generation model that was launched in 2016, but the video isn't clear enough to tell us whether it was the ES 200 or ES 300h.

Thoughts On Lexus ES Accelerating Away Without Driver

Lexus and Toyota had earlier fought several cases of ‘unintended acceleration'. It was found that in most cases, it was the drive who panicked and pinned the throttle down instead of hitting the brakes.

In this case though, the driver completely let go of all the controls and got out, but the vehicle accelerated as it was in drive mode. Lexus makes some of the safest and most technologically advanced cars in the world, but even the safest cars can be dangerous when some human error is added to the mix.

Video Source: Ring