Toyota Problem 'link To 89 Deaths'

[Raistlin]

Unintended acceleration in Toyota vehicles may have been involved in the deaths of 89 people over the past decade, the US government has said.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said that from 2000 to mid-May this year, it had received more than 6,200 complaints involving sudden acceleration in Toyota vehicles.

The reports involve 89 deaths and 57 injuries over the same period. Previously, 52 deaths were blamed on the problem.

Toyota has recalled more than eight million vehicles worldwide since last autumn because of problems with accelerator pedals, floor mats and brakes.

The government typically receives an increase in complaints following a recall.

None of the complaints has been verified.

The Japanese carmaker has paid a record 16.4 million dollar (£11.4 million) fine for its slow response to an accelerator pedal recall and is facing hundreds of state and federal lawsuits.

Toyota said in a statement that it “sympathises with the individuals and families involved in any accident involving our vehicles. We are making an all-out effort to ensure our vehicles are safe and we remain committed to investigating reported incidents of unintended acceleration in our vehicles quickly.”

The carmaker said “many complaints in the NHTSA database, for any manufacturer, lack sufficient detail that could help identify the cause of an accident. We will continue to work in close partnership with law enforcement agencies and federal regulators with jurisdiction over accident scenes whenever requested.”

In the aftermath of the recalls, Congress is considering upgrading vehicle safety laws to stiffen potential penalties against carmakers, give the government more powers to demand a recall and push car companies to meet new safety standards.

[Bizarra]

Safety, safety, always safety :)

No body is ever supposed to die & living is dangerous & always has been, but the Human race has survived. Risk removes the weakest or most stupid from the gene pool

Don't let your kids climb trees, play on swings, play football in the Street, etc. What about the days when a kid wandered too far into the forest & got lost or eaten by a wolf ? Tough He/she didn't do it again & the survivors were more careful.

My hobby horse :lol2: Be careful in any way that your brain tells you, & don't expect others to protect you

[Parts-King]

No win no fee...............says it all...........if money can be made by jumping on a bandwagon then our American cousins will do so (and increasingly so over here now too!)

Unintended accelertion are the latest buzz words, there is not sufficient accurate information to give a true cause. There could be many reasons, fitted 2 sets of carpets and the pedal jammed open or drunken man hit the brakes and missed, hitting the gas pedal instead, or a minute possibility, Toyota have messed up big time!!! I have reviewed some very interesting articles and it appears that when doing an emergency stop, it is quite possible (especially in an automatic) to hit both pedals at the same time It has something to do with fright or flight and you can do very erratic things without realising when under extreme duress or fright

Kingo