Page 178 - Toyota Under Fire

RESPONSE AND THE ROAD TO RECOVER Y

overheat and burn out. Further investigation, notably undertaken
by bloggers rather than by the mainstream media, revealed that
the driver had significant financial and legal troubles in his imme-
diate past, suggesting the possibility of an ulterior motive on his
part. Toyota did not make any public statements about the driver’s
motives, sticking with its policy of not pointing fingers, but the
facts made the company’s case for it.
Just a few days later, another high-profile accident was blamed
on SUA by the media and investigators but was equally debunked.
In the aftermath of the crash in Harrison, New York, police im-
mediately blamed a “stuck accelerator,” even though the incident
occurred as the driver was pulling out of her driveway.* Within
a week, analysis of the vehicle’s electronic data recorder showed
that the brakes had not been depressed and the throttle was wide
open, indicating, according to the NHTSA, “driver error.” The
acting chief of the local police department, while at first disput-
ing the NHTSA’s finding, noted that he had driven a Prius and
had tried pushing the accelerator and the brake simultaneously,
and found, “There was no way that car wasn’t going to stop.”†
What these events created was something that Toyota never
could have: public doubt that the claims being made about un-
stoppable cars were trustworthy. That gave Toyota the opportunity
to begin speaking more aggressively, not just about recalls, but
responding to misinformation in the public sphere. During the
course of March, Toyota issued at least six statements specifically

* Lisa Flam, “Police: Accelerator Suspected in NY Prius Crash,” March 10,
2010; http://www.aolnews.com/2010/03/10/police-accelerator-suspected-in
-toyota-prius-crash-in-ny/.
† James R. Healy, “NHTSA Cites Driver Error in New York Prius Inci-
dent,” March 19, 2010; http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/2010-03-19
-toyota19_ST_N.htm.

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