What's Wrong With This Picture: Toyota Owners And Their Floormats Edition
Published: July 23rd, 2010
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An anonymous Toyota Tech sent us these recent images of a 2008 Prius and its highly questionable pedal-floormat interface. Did nobody tell this guy that Toyota has had some problems with floormat pedal interference, and that there had been a recall? Did he somehow miss the months-long media frenzy? This is yet more proof that there is literally no way to completely prevent unintended acceleration, even if the problem has been identified and a recall has been issued. Remember folks, when it comes to cars only you can keep you safe.
More by Edward Niedermeyer
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No doubt that some people are idiots and other simply make mistakes. That has always been true even with mechanical throttle control. However, when it comes to electronic throttle control it isn't necessarily just the floor mats. See: http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20727704.800-toyota-too-soon-to-blame-drivers-for-problems.html "But the fault detection system is not foolproof, according to Todd Hubing, a vehicle electronics researcher at Clemson University in Greenville, South Carolina. This month, Hubing told a US National Academy of Sciences committee investigating SUA that when his team fired radio waves at laboratory test vehicles travelling at a steady speed, they accelerated. These incidents were not picked up by the fault detection system, possibly because the radio waves affected both sensors equally, Hubing says." And: http://www2.wspa.com/news/2010/jul/21/clemson-professor-studies-unintended-acceleration--ar-607687/
Toyota doesn't need to knock on his door at 2am. Darwin will knock on it soon enough and though painful we as a society will be better for it. Remember, it's better to rip the bandaid off quickly instead of slowly.