Reprinted from The Safety Record, Volume 8, Issue 3, November 2011 The DOT Office of Inspector General has found that NHTSA’s Office of Defect Investigations followed its established procedures in conducting its inquiries into Toyota Sudden Acceleration for nearly a decade, but the OIG rapped the agency for its lack of transparency and documentation.

Reprinted from The Safety Record, Volume 8, Issue 2, July 2011 National Highway Traffic Safety Administrator David Strickland opened the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles Conference several weeks ago on a skeptical note about Google Inc.’s fleet of automated Toyota Priuses. “More people feel that the task of driving belongs to the driver,” Strickland said. “And [...]

Reprinted from The Safety Record, Volume 8, Issue 1, March 2011 WENDOVER, UTAH – Last November, as NASA’s Engineering and Safety Center was dotting the “i”s and crossing the “t”s of its “exacting” study of Toyota’s electronic throttle control, Paul VanAlfen was in a panic. The Utah man was frantically trying to disengage the cruise [...]

Reprinted from The Safety Record, Volume 7, Issue 2, June 2010 WASHINGTON, DC – The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has opened an investigation into pedal entrapment involving the 2010 Ford Fusion, after receiving three complaints of accelerators pedals being trapped by accessory all-weather floor mats.

Reprinted from The Safety Record, Volume 7, Issue 2, June 2010 The last two months have seen another Congressional hearing; details on Toyota’s fiscal and legal relationship with Exponent, the birth of a new government panel to look at Sudden Unintended Acceleration, the launch of a new Timeliness Query in a Toyota recall of defective [...]

Reprinted from The Safety Record, Volume 7, Issue 1, April 2010 WASHINGTON, D.C. – After nearly seven years of complaints and quietly failed Toyota SUA investigations, the floodgates have opened. The last two months have brought more recalls, unprecedented press coverage, political and corporate theater, lawsuits, three new NHTSA investigations and a dribbling of old [...]

Reprinted from The Safety Record, Volume 6, Issue 6, December 2009 NEW YORK, NY— Toyota ended the old year trying to decisively shut the door on sudden unintended acceleration (SUA) problems in its Toyota and Lexus vehicles, but it’s unlikely that the automaker’s troubles are gone with 2009.

Reprinted from The Safety Record, Volume 6, Issue 5, October 2009 TORRANCE, CA— The world’s largest automaker Toyota, known for its rock-solid reputation for quality among consumers, is finding the pedestal a bit shaky these days. Last month, Toyota launched its largest recall in the company’s history for all-weather floor mats that may entrap the [...]

Reprinted from The Safety Record, Volume 6, Issue 4, August / September 2000 SANTEE, CALIFORNIA—A horrific sudden unintended acceleration crash that killed four – including a California Highway Patrol officer who was at the wheel of the 2009 Lexus when it plunged over an embankment and burst into flames – may raise the profile of [...]

Reprinted from The Safety Record, Volume 6, Issue 3, June / July 2009 SAN LUIS OBISPO, CA – On February 5, 2007, Bulent and Anne Ezal were headed to lunch at the Pelican Point Restaurant in Pismo Beach, California. The restaurant is nestled on the edge of a cliff, affording dramatic views of the Pacific [...]