Complaints against Toyota for unintended acceleration have nearly doubled in the last two weeks, but the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s latest findings could explain that phenomenon. After an initial report suggesting a hoax, the NHTSA has learned that a crash in New York involving an alleged runaway Toyota Prius was actually the result of driver error.
Last week, a 56-year old housekeeper claimed her 2005 Toyota Prius accelerated out of control, stopping only when it slammed into a stone wall. The story garnered national media attention as the Prius in question had already received its recall fix from Toyota and the accident sent the women to the hospital with injuries.
Toyota immediately sent six investigators to the scene with the NHTSA sending two representatives of its own. A thorough investigation of the 2005 Prius was conducted, with the findings now public.
Both Toyota and the NHTSA have concluded that the accident was a result of driver error, not a runaway vehicle. While the driver claimed she was aggressively applying the brakes at the time of the accident, the car’s onboard computer showed that the throttle was wide open and the brakes were not being engaged. “Information retrieved from the vehicle’s onboard computer systems indicated there was no application of the brakes and the throttle was fully open,” the NHTSA said in a statement.
While it’s impossible to say if this type of situation is occurring in all of the recent reports of runaway Toyotas, it seems highly likely that driver error is to blame in at least a portion of the complaints. Toyota and the NHTSA will continue to investigate claims of unintended acceleration, but it remains to be seen if any electronic gremlins will ever be found.
References
1. ‘Feds: Human error…’ view
