Difference of scale? Ok, I agree with you there, but characterizing the risk as "a couple dented fenders" is intellectually dishonest. A high speed accident on an interstate could easily involve serious, even fatal injuries.
It could in some situations, yes. This was not one of those situations.
We're talking about someone coasting uphill with absolutely no braking whatsoever. There's plenty of reaction time in such situations (as I happen to know firsthand, as was the case when my SUV ran out of gas and I had to coast a quarter-mile over a hill to get to the next offramp while merging from the fast lane to the far right at 70MPH). Even for semis, the reporter's car wouldn't mean having to slam on the brakes. Not to mention that the uphill helps with stopping.
The story would be different if the researchers slammed the car's brakes. If that were the case, then yes, death would be possible. That wasn't the case.
No intellectual dishonesty here. Just thorough examination of the situation as described by the author of the article.
