Accelerator (gas pedal) stock open when pedal pressed for acceleration onto interstate highway. Vehicle accelerated to very high speed. Pressing brake slowed vehicle to 55 mph. Shifted to neutral, heard a low pop and accelerator mechanism disengaged.

- Gainesville, GA, USA

I was on I-75 when I accelerated hard while trying to merge into a gap in heavy, merging traffic. When I took my foot off the accelerator my van continued to accelerate as the engine continued to rev at a high RPM. I stabbed at the accelerator with my foot to see if I could unstick it, but it only caused the engine to rev even higher - to full-throttle. I jabbed at it multiple times to no avail. I tried to lift the gas pedal with my foot by jamming it underneath the pedal and pulling it up, but it floated freely and continued to fall back to its full-throttle position. Although I was confident that the floor mat was not the cause of the problem I pulled it away from the pedals and, as expected, there was no effect. I was able to keep control of my van by applying extremely heavy pressure to the brake while shifting between neutral and drive. During that time I was still jabbing and lifting the accelerator with my right foot trying to 'unstick' the gas pedal. I was entering and crossing and overpass that was undergoing construction. Concrete barriers lined both sides of the highway and bridge where the emergency lanes would have otherwise been located. I had to maintain some speed, for fear of being rear-ended, while searching for the first opportunity to pull over. My vehicle was towed to the nearest Mazda dealership where the mechanic was able to quickly ascertain that the screwing mechanism from an unsecured air hose clamp had snagged the throttle arm - the clamp attaches the hose to the engine. As I pushed harder on the gas pedal it further exacerbated the problem by locking the arm in a more wide-open throttle position. The clamp had been left unsecured from previous work done at a Mazda dealership. According to the mechanic, this could have also occurred if the clamp had been secured, but not positioned out of the way of the arm.

- Fort Myers, FL, USA