Road Reality » NHTSA

PedalGate: Toyota PR “planted” DOT findings?

admin — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 17:38:57 +0000

In a report from Just-Auto that AutoBlog then further investigated, it seems like Toyota’s own Public Relations arm was the source for The Wall Street Journal‘s report earlier this week, which said that the DOT’s investigation found drivers at fault for incidents of unintended acceleration. Remember that “grain of salt” I was taking with the original report? Looks like something was fishy after all. Keep in mind that the NHTSA said that it was still months away from finishing its own investigation. Stay tuned for updates as they become available.

by John Suit

Source: Just-Auto via AutoBlog

PedalGate: Trumped Up Charges?

admin — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 13:57:13 +0000

A report from The Wall Street Journal has reported about the results of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) investigation into the claims of unintended acceleration involving Toyota’s vehicles. The WSJ’s report says that the recalls, which have tarnished Toyota’s reputation for quality, not to mention missed sales opportunities and the outlay of cash to fix over 8 million cars, were not caused by faulty electronics: driver error, not stuck gas pedals, are to blame in almost every case.

Recalled Toyota floor mat and gas pedal

After examining dozens of black box data recorders from the crashed Toyotas, the DOT found that in almost all cases, the gas pedal was floored and the brakes weren’t even touched. I say almost all, because the crash which started the media blitz around the issue, which involved a California highway patrolman in a runaway Lexus. That crash was determined to be caused by the driver’s floor mat, which trapped the gas pedal in a pushed-down position.

Meanwhile, the NHTSA isn’t commenting, at least until their probe into Toyota’s issues has been completed, which is expected to be months from now. In regards to the electronic issue which was blamed for lots of crashes, Daniel Smith, NHTSA’s associate administrator for enforcement, recently said, “In spite of our investigations, we have not actually been able yet to find a defect.”

So, while the DOT and perhaps the NHTSA are blaming drivers, Toyota isn’t jumping on that bandwagon, and has said repeatedly that they haven’t found a source for the problems customers are reporting.

I take the results of this first investigation with a grain of salt, as the same results were found in an investigation into the Audi 5000 sedans back in 1989, which also blamed drivers for crashes involving unintended acceleration.

by John Suit

Source: The Wall Street Journal

Repeat DUI Offender Hits Judge

admin — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 13:29:26 +0000

While it’s not a specific car I’m talking about this time, this one hits close to home. This incident happened in Montgomery County, MD, where I currently reside. Turns out that a repeat DUI offender named Rene Fernandez was involved in a collision last August, when his Tahoe struck a Honda Accord in the oncoming lane. The ironic part? The driver of the Honda was none other than Edwin Collier, a retired judge who had let Fernandez off light in 1998, when Fernandez was caught driving drunk for the second time in 3 months.

The first judge to see Fernandez in 1998 gave him probation, but less than 3 months later, Collier just added supervised probation and abstaining from alcohol to Fernandez’ sentence for his 2nd DUI, instead of the 60-day jail term he could’ve (and probably should’ve) given him.

I believe Collier should’ve thrown the book at Fernandez when he had the chance. A first DUI can sometimes be recognized as a one-time mistake, and scares a lot of people straight. Multiples, however, especially in that short a time frame, makes you question whether a person should even have a license to drive.

Fernandez was recently sentenced to 18 months in jail, while Judge Collier and his wife recover from several broken bones.

by John Suit

Source: The Gazette; Image Source: www.StopImpairedDriving.org, part of NHTSA

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NHTSA and DOT fining Toyota $16 million

admin — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 18:00:52 +0000

Remember that possible $16.4-million dollar fine that Toyota might possibly have to pay? The NHTSA and DOT are reporting that they’re going to fine Toyota the full amount, for knowing about the danger posed to millions of drivers for months before telling federal investigators and announcing the recall. The NHTSA says its still investigating Toyota to determine if more fines will be levied or not. According to AutoBlog, Toyota has 2 weeks to accept the fine and pay up, or contest it. This is the largest fine ever given to an automaker.

Uh-oh: NHTSA Looking at 6.2 Million GM vehicles over Brakes

admin — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 18:00:17 +0000

It seems that Toyota isn’t the only automaker in trouble for brake problems. The NHTSA is reportedly looking into complaints of brake failures on 6.2 million GM vehicles. The Detroit News is reporting that there have been 110 complaints, 37 of which have been inspected by dealers and found brake failure. So far only 3 crashes have been reported. While this is similar to Toyota’s issues, where only a small percentage of the affected vehicles have actually had problems, if you’re one of those owners, it can be a scary thing. GM is cooperating with the investigation, so have your dealer take a look at your brake lines if you’re worried.

The problem is due to corrosion of brake lines, which leads to longer braking distances, with the pedal pushed to the floor. The investigation involves all vehicles built from 1999 to 2003, so while there were 6.2 million vehicles built, not all of them are still on the roads. The complaints include vehicles in use for 6 years and under normal driving conditions.

Could GM be the next multi-million recall automaker? The next few weeks or months should show for sure, but I’d bet at least some recall will come from this. A recall for GM definitely isn’t good news, but with the possible recall involving 7 to 11-year old vehicles, it hopefully won’t affect their current up-swing in sales.

by John Suit

Source: The Detroit News

Transportation Secretary LaHood looks to stem in-car distractions?

admin — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 15:00:53 +0000

Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood (pictured) has gotten some good TV time this week. First he warned American drivers of Toyota’s recalled vehicles to park them immediately. Shortly thereafter, he retracted part of that statement in a “clarification” in which he told drivers to get their recalled cars to Toyota dealerships as soon as possible. In a report which came out Friday on the Detroit News, LaHood is apparently looking to limit in-car distractions for drivers.

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