This story was interesting. There now is a proposal to require new cars to have a "brake override" feature. If both the accelerator and brake are pressed, the acceleration is cut.
I couldn't figure out when this story was first mentioned. I researched it a little, and it seems to be after 12pm yesterday, when my "Toyota Recall" post was published. I wrote:
Most cars have a safety feature that says "If the accelerator and brake are simultaneously pressed, cut off gasoline to the engine." To cut costs, Toyota did not include that safety feature.I'd only seen that point mentioned once before, in a Toyota article I read. Today, I see that as a heavily-hyped solution to Toyota's problem.
Did someone read my blog and then come up with that new regulation? Probably not, but it's an amusing coincidence.
That's an example of government forcing a business to do what they really should do anyway. I can't imagine someone voluntarily buying a car without that safety feature.
3 comments:
It's been discussed plenty of times on Auto Blogs...example:
http://jalopnik.com/5473971/toyotas-brake-recall-a-danger-to-enthusiasts
2/18/10
It's not a standard safety design and it's not universal. It is extremely useful to be able to use the brake and accelerator at the same time, for example cornering during racing.
Government has been salivating for years to make it a law to have this feature in order to restrict freedom from people. Even though there is no evidence whatsoever that these accidents had anything to do with braking and accelerating at the same time. In fact, it doesn't even make logical sense as an explanation.
Also, even if you are against racing, there are plenty of times I have used this in places like San Francisco in order to get going when you are at a stop light on a very steep hill. There are some locations that are so steep that if you don't use brake and accelerator at the same time and you have a stick shift, your car will often stall and then roll into the car behind you causing an accident. The brakes hold the car in place while you get the engine up to torque to be able to get over the hump.
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