华盛顿邮报：丰田油门自动加速调查结果
Toyota Sudden Acceleration Not Caused by Electronic Glitch, Government Finds
In 2009, a Lexus carrying an off-duty highway patrolman and his family sped out of control and crashed in San Diego, killing all four passengers. On Tuesday, government investigators concluded that the incident and other instances of "sudden unintended acceleration" were not caused by an electronic defect, but by drivers themselves. "The jury is back; the verdict is in," Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said during a news conference. "There is no electronic-based cause for unintended high-speed acceleration in Toyotas. Period." The NASA investigation concludes that drivers caused the sudden acceleration by mistakenly slamming on the accelerator, rather than the brake, reports the Washington Post. NASA engineers carried out the enquiry after thousands of drivers reported runaway Toyotas, prompting the recall of almost 8 million vehicles and $48.8 million in fines for the Japanese automaker in 2009. Victims suspected that complex engine electronics and microprocessors cased the incidents. Lawyers for Toyota owners still contend that this is the case. "Our experts tell us that the report is just wrong, and they are confident that they are going to be able to show that the electronic throttle control contributed to unintended acceleration," said the co-lead counsel in a class-action lawsuit.
Read original story in The Washington Post | Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2011
In 2009, a Lexus carrying an off-duty highway patrolman and his family sped out of control and crashed in San Diego, killing all four passengers. On Tuesday, government investigators concluded that the incident and other instances of "sudden unintended acceleration" were not caused by an electronic defect, but by drivers themselves. "The jury is back; the verdict is in," Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said during a news conference. "There is no electronic-based cause for unintended high-speed acceleration in Toyotas. Period." The NASA investigation concludes that drivers caused the sudden acceleration by mistakenly slamming on the accelerator, rather than the brake, reports the Washington Post. NASA engineers carried out the enquiry after thousands of drivers reported runaway Toyotas, prompting the recall of almost 8 million vehicles and $48.8 million in fines for the Japanese automaker in 2009. Victims suspected that complex engine electronics and microprocessors cased the incidents. Lawyers for Toyota owners still contend that this is the case. "Our experts tell us that the report is just wrong, and they are confident that they are going to be able to show that the electronic throttle control contributed to unintended acceleration," said the co-lead counsel in a class-action lawsuit.
Read original story in The Washington Post | Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2011
