

Robert Wright: Toyotas Are Safe (Enough) - MikeCapone
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/09/toyotas-are-safe-enough/?ref=opinion

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Osiris
What I don't understand, is why aren't drivers smart enough to just shift into
Neutral and turn off the engine? I mean, it's not rocket science.

I've had my throttle stick on my floor mat in my 2002 Passat quite frequently
and I've never freaked out about it or even had a problem regaining control.

The real thing to do here is to make sure the drivers in the U.S. know how to
properly operate a motor vehicle.

~~~
InclinedPlane
A lot of the drivers affected appear to be older drivers. It's possible that
more savvy drivers do just shift into neutral and just "handle it", and just
chalk it up to a random occurrence rather than a life-threatening major
defect.

However, one thing that i don't think many people appreciate is that in some
of these scenarios if the driver begins braking normally (i.e. to slow their
speed rather than a full-on emergency stop) and they continue to do so for a
little while they will very rapidly burn up their brake pads, and then they
won't have the ability to use the brakes. This scenario may be frightening
enough to induce panic, even though throwing it into neutral (or even, say,
low) and applying the emergency brake would quickly resolve the situation.

Note also that for these keyless vehicles turning off the engine is not as
intuitive (or even possible) as it would be for a keyed ignition.

I agree that the problem is not just a hardware issue, it's also the result of
driver error, but even so you want to stack the deck in favor of safety and
make sure that you avoid these sorts of failures that will be more likely to
result in driving mishaps, even if theoretically drivers should be able to
recover from the situation if they keep presence of mind and know what they're
doing.

~~~
anamax
> However, one thing that i don't think many people appreciate is that in some
> of these scenarios if the driver begins braking normally (i.e. to slow their
> speed rather than a full-on emergency stop) and they continue to do so for a
> little while they will very rapidly burn up their brake pads, and then they
> won't have the ability to use the brakes.

I don't think that brakes burn out that quickly.

I once had a car with a brake problem such that the brakes were always
somewhat on. They lasted for quite a while. (That car had a lot of horsepower
so I didn't notice the extra drag. However, even it couldn't overpower its
brakes, which were nowhere near as good as today's brakes, when I stomped on
both pedals.)

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weaksauce
I love that the software (which may or may not be the cause this though I am
leaning towards not.) is being crucified for something that could have
happened in older cars with direct throttle body response. My friend got the
throttle cable stuck on a dirt bike that he was using and it was going full
tilt until he was able to return the throttle to it's default state. I would
imagine that an improperly maintained older car would have the same capability
for sticking.

~~~
sliverstorm
People just _leap_ to blame the software. It's dark and mysterious and people
imagine that it is taking control away from them.

~~~
MikeCapone
Exactly. What should matter is "are our cars getting safer or more dangerous?"

If that's the question, then I think it's safe to say that they are getting
safer.

But if you're just looking for something to blame, it's a lot easier to blame
something you don't understand.

