#KeylessStart

If you’re into American politics, have access to a high-speed Internet connection, or you’re a Kevin Spacey fan, you’ve watched – or have heard of – House of Cards. You know, it’s that show where Kevin Spacey puts on his best Southern accent and somehow manages to manipulate his way up the political ladder from being the majority whip to the presidency of the United States. At this point, if you’re planning to replicate Frank Underwood’s journey to the top, it should be noted that no House whip from either party has ever become President of the United States, with Dick Cheney (House Minority Whip for two and a half months in 1989) coming the closest to the prize. But ladies and gentlemen, Frank Underwood’s rise to power never should have happened, due to a particular, automotive-related moment during the first season.

(Spoiler alert from here onwards if you’ve never watched House of Cards. Seriously, watch it. You’ll be worse for it in so many ways, or maybe you’ll be a lot better at playing office politics or at imitating a Southern accent, but watch it.)

On my raceboat, we had one of those big red things pictured above. It was supposed to switch everything off when things went awry. The NHTSA now proposes something similar for cars with keyless ignition. It is intended to stop the car immediately in a panic situation. Of course it won’t be as intuitive as the big red switch pictured above. After all, the solution comes from Washington, DC.

Bloomberg reports:

“U.S. auto-safety regulators proposed standardizing keyless ignitions to allow drivers to turn off cars faster and more easily in incidents of unintended acceleration following Toyota Motor Corp.’s record recalls. “

If course, this is not entirely true.