He’s already gone after texting and general cell phone usage by drivers, and now is looking to limit the bells and whistles we take for granted these days.  LaHood is quoted as saying he’s, “going to talk to the car manufacturers and see where this leads.”

While the NHTSA says that in 2009, 6,000 people were killed by inattentive or distracted drivers and that more than 800,000 drivers are using hand-held phones while driving each day, a study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) on hand-held phone bans in California, Connecticut, New York, and Washington D.C. had no discernible effect on the number of traffic accidents.  LaHood explained this away by blaming a lack of police enforcement of those bans.

I’d like to see how far this goes, as more and more cars come equipped with bluetooth-compatible radios and hands-free dialing capability, and the number of crashes hasn’t significantly risen, even though the number of drivers in America has.

by John Suit

Source: Detroit News

Related posts:

1. DOT Bans texting for Commercial drivers
2. Toyota Updates for February 3rd, 2010
3. MD Enacts Hands-Free Cell Phone Law, Effective Oct. 1

This morning, Transportation Secretary LaHood had this to say:

“We need to fix the problem so people don’t have to worry about disengaging the engine or slamming the brakes on or put it in neutral…If anybody owns [one] of these vehicles, stop driving it and take it to a Toyota dealer.”

Then, he retracted part of his statement, clarifying that consumers should take their cars to their Toyota dealership as soon as possible if their car is affected by one or both recalls.

Toyota had this to say in response to LaHood:

“We appreciate Secretary LaHood’s clarification of his remarks today about Toyota’s recall for sticking accelerator pedals. We want to make sure our customers understand that this situation is rare and generally does not occur suddenly. In the rare instances where it does it occur, the vehicle can be controlled with firm and steady application of the brakes.  Our message to Toyota owners is this – if you experience any issues with your accelerator pedal, please contact your dealer without delay. If you are not experiencing any issues with your pedal, we are confident that your vehicle is safe to drive.  Nothing is more important to Toyota than the safety and reliability of the vehicles our customers drive. Our entire organization of 172,000 North American employees and dealership personnel is working around the clock to fix the accelerator pedals for our customers.”

Sounds like they were very happy with LaHood following up his first statement with another, but they still have a lot of spinning and fixing to do before they can relax.

In other news, the NHTSA is reporting that it is looking into electronic causes for the acceleration issues plaguing Toyota’s cars.  This makes me think that the mechanical solution to the problem may not, in fact, solve it.  If there’s an electrical problem, Toyota could be looking at a longer time until American consumers feel safe in their cars.  Hopefully it isn’t quite that bad, and a simple fix can be found if the problem is in the electronics.

While LaHood was busy giving Toyota heartburn, the Department of Transportation is reportedly looking to fine Toyota for the delayed recall.  The maximum they can fine Toyota is $16.4 million dollars, and up to now, no automaker has received a fine for that amount.  GM was fined the most, when 581,344 SUVs had faulty windshield wipers, although the exact figure is not known.  Toyota may just set a record, but definitely not in a good way.

On the lighter side, Jon Stewart had a piece last night on the “Toyotathon of Death”.  Funny stuff, so take a few minutes to watch it.

CBS’ David Letterman also had something to say:

by John Suit

Sources: CBS, Comedy Central, Toyota, NHTSA, AutoBlog

Related posts:

1. Updates: More Toyota recall information
2. PedalGate: Updates from this week
3. Update: NHTSA Investigation into Toyota hampered by ex-employee?