- Feb 12, 2007
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Oops.
The Feds have now determined that the Toyota acceleration incidents were due to "pedal misapplication". In other words - the drivers were at fault.
Does this mean the gurmint will return the nearly $49M in fines paid by Toyota?
I doubt it. But they should.
A record $48.8 million in fines, nearly eight million vehicle recalls, hundreds of lawsuits and one humiliating set of Congressional grillings later, we finally learned Tuesday that Toyota cars can't magically accelerate on their own. So what happened? "Pedal misapplications."
Now there's a euphemism for the bureaucratic ages. Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood couldn't bring himself to say "driver error" and he grew testy with a reporter who dared to put it so bluntly. But that's what the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration study, conducted over 10 months with the help of NASA engineers, concluded. Or to put it in plain English: Drivers, in moments of panic, sometimes mistake the accelerator for the brake.
That's an uncomfortable finding for politicians, plaintiffs attorneys and "safety advocates" who have tried for years to squeeze money out of big auto makers, including Audi, Ford, General Motors and others. That's why Clarence Ditlow, head of the Center for Auto Safety, dismissed Tuesday's report....
Review & Outlook: 'Pedal Misapplications' - WSJ.com
The Feds have now determined that the Toyota acceleration incidents were due to "pedal misapplication". In other words - the drivers were at fault.
Does this mean the gurmint will return the nearly $49M in fines paid by Toyota?
I doubt it. But they should.
A record $48.8 million in fines, nearly eight million vehicle recalls, hundreds of lawsuits and one humiliating set of Congressional grillings later, we finally learned Tuesday that Toyota cars can't magically accelerate on their own. So what happened? "Pedal misapplications."
Now there's a euphemism for the bureaucratic ages. Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood couldn't bring himself to say "driver error" and he grew testy with a reporter who dared to put it so bluntly. But that's what the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration study, conducted over 10 months with the help of NASA engineers, concluded. Or to put it in plain English: Drivers, in moments of panic, sometimes mistake the accelerator for the brake.
That's an uncomfortable finding for politicians, plaintiffs attorneys and "safety advocates" who have tried for years to squeeze money out of big auto makers, including Audi, Ford, General Motors and others. That's why Clarence Ditlow, head of the Center for Auto Safety, dismissed Tuesday's report....
Review & Outlook: 'Pedal Misapplications' - WSJ.com
