National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration Considers Making a Brake Override System Mandatory for All Cars Going Forward As A Means of Coping with Unintended Acceleration
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood stated that NHTSA is considering making brake override systems mandatory for all cars going forward as a way of coping with unintended sudden acceleration. We are now learning that many of the fixes by Toyota do not seem to be working and cars are still accelerating suddenly after the problem has allegedly been addressed in dealerships. Toyota has been inserting a shim to repair a Toyota accelerator pedal affected by the recall. The brake override system suggested would inform the engine that if the brake is depressed after accelerating in rapid fashion, such as an emergency or panic situation, that engine power should be reduced. Toyota is putting just such a system in many of the cars it sells in the U.S. starting in the spring. It is also offering to retrofit some models on the road now if the owner wants it done when they bring the car to the dealer for repair under the jammed floor mat recall. Brake override systems would only be added to certain vehicles with electronic throttles and Transportation Secretary LaHood made it clear that the order for implementing them would affect all automakers and not just Toyota.
