The Empire Strikes Back: NHTSA Says Harrison Crash Was Driver Error, Japanese Police Recommends Charges Against Prius Driver

Bertel Schmitt
by Bertel Schmitt

Black box data in New York and Japan shows that crashing Prius drivers had their feet on the wrong pedals and wrongly blamed their cars.

In Harrison, NY, the NHTSA declared that the cause of the Prius incident was driver error.Computer data from a Toyota Prius that crashed in suburban New York City show that at the time of the accident the throttle was open and the driver was not applying the brakes,” U.S. safety officials said to Associated Press.

NHTSA said information from the car’s computer systems indicates there was no application of the brakes and the throttle was fully open. The NHTSA “did not elaborate,” says AP, but the conclusions are clear: Someone’s foot was on the gas instead on the brakes.

The local Journal News learned that the disclosure did not please Harrison’s acting police chief Capt. Anthony Marraccini, who felt that the Feds are treading on his turf: “It’s disturbing to me that any information was released without the consultation of the Harrison Police Department,” Marraccini said. “We have done everything to protect the integrity of the investigation and Toyota.”

He said his probe was not over and driver error had not been established. He also complained that Toyota wouldn’t give him the tools to read the black box of the Prius.

“You can’t open it, you can’t read it, you can’t do anything with it,” Marraccini said, referring to the recorder.

Meanwhile in Japan, police of the Chiba prefecture, northeast of Tokyo, recommends that criminal charges are brought against a driver who claimed a brake failure had caused his Toyota Prius to crash into another car in the town of Matsudo. Two people aboard that car were slightly injured in the accident.

Again, data from the event recorder in the Prius showed that the brakes were working properly, Japanese police said today.

According to today’s Nikkei, “the accident in Matsudo led the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism to instruct Toyota to conduct checks on the Prius’ brake system. Later, Toyota announced a recall to address a glitch in the Prius’ antilock brake system, which causes a momentary lag in brake function when driving slowly on bumpy or slippery roads.”


Bertel Schmitt
Bertel Schmitt

Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.

More by Bertel Schmitt

Comments
Join the conversation
3 of 39 comments
  • CarPerson CarPerson on Mar 19, 2010

    This could get very interesting very quickly... If the car owner has a lot of money and is determined to prove it was not the housekeeper, that car is going to get torn down to every bolt, nut, and washer. Rich people aren't like you and me.

  • Pungojohnny Pungojohnny on Mar 20, 2010

    Bertel, good point about the 52 deaths. I went back and read the specific articles where that was reported, and yes they are saying that certain deaths were "attributed" to Toyota unintended acceleration by individuals posting complaints on NHSTA's website. I'm very disappointed in Toyota's responses to this issue and I find their efforts to blame the driver offensive because in January my beloved Toyota 4Runner went into high speed acceleration on its own, so I know that it happens. I also know that there are hundreds of complaints by other 4Runner owners of the same issue, but not a single 4Runner has been recalled to date. I've since gotten rid of the vehicle and will never own another Toyota. I continue to monitor the issue because I believe that Toyotas will continue to have these events until they fully admit the scope of the problem and find and implement the necessary solutions. In the meantime I fully expect that there will be more accidents, more injuries and more deaths while a great car company dithers over its own corporate culture.

    • Wmba Wmba on Mar 20, 2010

      Well, I've searched the web for the last half-hour, and can find only isolated reports of 4 Runners taking off by themselves. And they all seem to be people driving into garages just as the A/C cycles on, raising the idle speed enough to overcome the light brake application usual in such instances. Hundreds of reports? Perhaps you could enlighten me as to where these are located? Thanks. Since you are one of the few readers of TTAC who claim to have experienced this unintended acceleration of a Toyota at high speed, perhaps you could tell us what happened and how you dealt with the situation. I realize you have gotten rid of the vehicle, and were obviously upset enough to do so. You "know" it happens. Let us in on the details, please. I would find it fascinating to hear about it from a car guy's perspective.

  • ToolGuy This might be a good option for my spouse when it becomes available -- thought about reserving one but the $500 deposit is a little too serious. Oh sorry, that was the Volvo EX30, not the Mustang. Is Volvo part of Ford? Is the Mustang an EV? I'm so confused.
  • Mikey My late wife loved Mustangs ..We alway rented one while travelling . GM blood vetoed me purchasing one . 3 years after retirement bought an 08 rag top, followed by a 15 EB Hard top, In 18 i bought a low low mileage 05 GT rag with a stick.. The car had not been properly stored. That led to rodent issues !! Electrical nightmare. Lots of bucks !! The stick wasn't kind to my aging knees.. The 05 went to a long term dedicated Mustang guy. He loves it .. Today my garage tenant is a sweet 19 Camaro RS rag 6yl Auto. I just might take it out of hibernation this weekend. The Mustang will always hold a place in my heart.. Kudos to Ford for keeping it alive . I refuse to refer to the fake one by that storied name .
  • Ajla On the Mach-E, I still don't like it but my understanding is that it helps allow Ford to continue offering a V8 in the Mustang and F-150. Considering Dodge and Ram jumped off a cliff into 6-cylinder land there's probably some credibility to that story.
  • Ajla If I was Ford I would just troll Stellantis at all times.
  • Ronin It's one thing to stay tried and true to loyal past customers; you'll ensure a stream of revenue from your installed base- maybe every several years or so.It's another to attract net-new customers, who are dazzled by so many other attractive offerings that have more cargo capacity than that high-floored 4-Runner bed, and are not so scrunched in scrunchy front seats.Like with the FJ Cruiser: don't bother to update it, thereby saving money while explaining customers like it that way, all the way into oblivion. Not recognizing some customers like to actually have right rear visibility in their SUVs.
Next