Nice New Toyotas

Amidst numerous concerns over its vehicles, Toyota has issued yet another recall. Previous recalls have focused on problems with the accelerators on a number of their vehicles, leading to sudden uncontrolled acceleration. These acceleration incidents have led to the deaths of multiple people. This time, the company is addressing a computer issue with the brakes on its popular Prius hybrid. Could the accelerator issues also be a computer problem?

In modern vehicles it is not rare for the brakes, steering, and even acceleration to be partially computer-controlled. Although some customers fear a loss of control to a computer, most of the time these systems actually increase the vehicle’s safety by responding to problems before the driver is aware of them. However, unless automobile manufacturers take extreme care, mistakes in these computer systems can have disastrous results.

As a hybrid, the Prius makes use of both electrical and gasoline-based drive systems to increase its fuel efficiency. One of several methods it uses to recharge its batteries is known as regenerative braking. When the driver hits the brakes, the vehicle stops the car by using its momentum to drive a generator. If the driver needs to stop suddenly, however, the computer must give control to a standard braking system. Difficulties switching between these two systems are what led to the most recent recall.

Steve Wozniak, one of the co-founders of Apple Computers and a long-time Prius enthusiast, owns dozens of Priuses and has claimed to have discovered a software issue that might be behind the acceleration issues. He reports that some vehicles can experience sudden acceleration without any input from the driver. And this is in addition to the brake issue that has already triggered the new round of recalls

The acceleration and braking recalls are a serious embarrassment for Toyota. Other automobile manufacturers use computer-controlled systems very safely. In fact, many European car companies have had systems in place for years that automatically prevent uncontrolled acceleration. Apparently this is too much to pay for Toyota, a company that has been gradually reducing the quality of its components for years to cut costs.

If you or someone you love have been seriously affected by a sudden Toyota acceleration or braking incident, you are entitled to seek damages for your losses. The compassionate and experienced personal injury lawyers of Habush Habush & Rottier are here to help you seek justice.

No one should have to suffer because of a company’s negligence. To discuss your case with a lawyer, call the acceleration injury lawyers Habush Habush & Rottier today.

Joseph Devine

I turn on the news, and if I didn’t know any better, I would think Hollywood has launched a brilliant viral marketing campaign for its newest recycled horror film: The villain, a seemingly typical hybrid that refuses to listen to its driver or its own brake pads, a metaphor for our blind faith in the hybrid automotive industry; the victims, more than 8.5 million Toyota owners of such demonized machines worldwide, four of whom tragically meet their demise. Hey, it worked with a cell phone, right?

But reports from several independent agencies, as well as Toyota’s own investigation, seem to tell a strikingly different tale, one with all the embellishment, absurdity, and public interest of a prime-time reality show. More often than not, these reports find in such allegedly runaway Priuses – by far the most numerous of all runaways reported – that accidents were caused by human error, not faulty brakes.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), which reports on vehicle safety issues, recalls and defects, found in one such accident in New York City on March 9, 2010, that “information retrieved from the vehicle’s onboard computer systems indicated there was no application of the brakes and the throttle was fully open” when the vehicle crashed into a stone wall, alleging that the driver was, in fact, at fault.

And the southern Californian who claimed his Prius reached speeds exceeding 90 miles per hour on a crowded freeway the day before? Toyota’s report – confirmed by a congressional committee – finds that his brake pedal and accelerator were repeatedly depressed upwards of 250 times, which can cause the safety feature designed to stop unintended acceleration to fail, among other inconsistencies with his story.

So what, if anything, would cause drivers to create their own chapters in The Case of the Runaway Prius? Well, for one, we are social creatures and crave attention in any form. It is also natural for humans to want to blame an accident of any kind on something – or someone – else. Once an alibi is created, or a loophole produced, especially one with such media attention as the Runaway Prius, it is also natural for such alibis to be repeated. Compound these with the potential for monetary gain through class-action lawsuit, and any such event can be blown out of proportion. As with every story, it is critical to read the facts from reputable sources, lest we begin to believe the works of fiction.