Feds urge vehicle brake-override systems

Federal regulations proposed Thursday would require new cars and light trucks to have override systems to prevent unintended acceleration when the gas pedal and brake are applied at the same time, or when accelerator control systems disconnect.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration proposed changing accelerator testing standards for most new cars and many trucks and buses. The override systems, which automatically activate if the accelerator and brake are touched simultaneously, would be required in passenger cars, trucks and buses weighing less than 10,000 pounds. Most large trucks and buses weigh more than that.

Many vehicle models already come equipped with such brake-throttle override systems, which give the brake primacy.

The proposal is an outgrowth of investigations two years ago into claims that electronic defects were causing unintended acceleration in some Toyota models. An investigation by NHTSA and a separate study by NASA concluded that there were no electronic defects, but that in some cases drivers had inadvertently pressed the brake and gas pedal at the same time or that gas pedals had become trapped.

One accident that gained attention was the August 2009 high-speed crash of a Lexus near San Diego that resulted in the deaths of four people. Investigators determined that the driver, a veteran California highway patrolman, had applied the brake of the loaned car but was unable to override the accelerator, which was trapped by a floor mat.

In February 2011, Toyota Motor Corp. recalled 2.17 million vehicles in the United States to address accelerator pedals that could become trapped in floor mats or jammed in driver's-side carpeting, prompting NHTSA to close its investigation. The agency also fined Toyota $50 million for not recalling millions of vehicles in a timely fashion.

The proposed standard aims to minimize the risk that drivers will lose control of their vehicles as a result of either accelerator-control system disconnections or accelerator-pedal sticking or floor-mat entrapment, the safety administration said.

The auto industry urged two years ago that override systems be standard on new vehicles, said Gloria Bergquist, vice president of the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers. She said the alliance would review NHTSA's proposal.