Page 119 - Toyota Under Fire

TOYOT A UNDER FIRE

United States. Of course, Schmidt notes that the actual number
of pedal misapplication accidents is surely much higher, since he
counted only accidents where the driver was willing to admit fault.
Another consideration to take into account before drawing
a conclusion on the solidity of the evidence for SUA in Toyota
vehicles, or any vehicles, back in 2009 is the plausibility of com-
plaints based on the actual functioning of vehicles. All vehicles are
designed so that the brakes are more powerful than the engine—
the brakes can resist more torque than the engine can create.
That’s a basic design consideration to make sure that brakes can
stop a car. The braking system in modern vehicles is hydraulic—
essentially a mechanical system that uses vacuum and liquid pres-
sure to increase braking force. These braking systems are wholly in-
dependent of the throttle and engine control modules. Therefore,
a situation in which a vehicle did not at least begin to slow down,
but rather continued accelerating after the driver pushed the
brake to the floor, would require the simultaneous failure of two
completely independent systems, one mechanical and one elec-
tronic, without leaving any evidence. For example, in December
2009, Car and Driver magazine tested the ability of a Camry’s brakes
to stop the vehicle if the throttle was stuck open, either because of
an accelerator pedal being trapped or from some other cause. The
Car and Driver test found that with the accelerator jammed fully
to the floor and the engine running at wide-open throttle from a
start of 70 mph, full pressure on the brakes stopped the car in less
distance than a Ford Taurus traveling at a similar speed without
the accelerator jammed and just 16 feet farther than the stopping
distance of the Camry without the accelerator jammed.*
* Dave Vanderwerp, “How to Deal with Unintended Acceleration,” Car and
Driver, December 2010; http://www.caranddriver.com/features/09q4/how_to
_deal_with_unintended_acceleration-tech_dept

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