Coasting kills !!

[SDMCF]

This article implies (without saying so directly) that the death of 3 people was caused by a driver coasting down a hill in neutral to save fuel. It doesn't explain why this is so, but it is certainly bad PR for hypermiling.

[redpoint5]

He likely had the engine off while coasting. I've done that on a steep twisty road in the Acura, and it took most of my strength to operate the brakes and steer. My right quad was burning by the bottom of the hill.

The thing is, if the car is downshifted enough to control speed, it doesn't burn fuel anyhow. There probably wasn't even any fuel savings.

If I were a judge, I'd sentence the boy to a day in jail. Loosing 3 friends is punishment enough, and prison isn't going to teach the kid anything he hasn't already learned. Why waste 10 more months of a remaining life?

[Fat Charlie]

I love it. "Took a corner way too fast" somehow gets blamed on gear selection.

Steering and brakes still work perfectly well in N.

[Frank Lee]

Nothing was said about engine off; just neutral.

IMHO the neutral thing isn't even worth mentioning. It was either excess speed or inattentive driving that caused it, neither had anything to do with coasting. It still had full brakes.

[jakobnev]

Many things can kill when done at the wrong place and time.

[RedDevil]

Hitting the kerb should not cause an accident at 40 mph in a not very sharp corner...



But these are not 'normal' kerbs. These have a slanted edge.
Hit them with a front wheel then it will make it steer into the kerb and climb it.
That can easily flip a car as small as an old Ibiza if the shocks are lame.
(Maybe the Ibiza had no power steering. In the 80s they definitely hadn't)

Too many uncertainties to judge - but poor kerb design may have contributed to the accident.