Toyota panic an overreaction
Michael Kirsch, a NASA principal engineer, speaks about the finding that electronics were not the source of problems with Toyotas. Credit: AP
If there's anything to be learned from the Toyota recall, panic and investigation, it's that the company should have responded more aggressively, and everyone else more calmly.
A study recently released by a NASA-based team concluded that as many as 50 accident-related deaths weren't caused by a malfunction in the electrical system, as first suspected. Fear of the computer under the dash seizing control gripped drivers, but the real culprit was a combination of driver error, sticky gas pedals and poorly designed floor mats.
When the story broke in 2009, Toyota's stock and sales tumbled. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood's statement in 2010 that the only place owners of the vehicles should drive them was to the mechanic didn't help.
Toyota was accused, justifiably, of being slow to react to reports of the problems with floor mats and pedals. Eventually, the company recalled about 9 million cars and agreed to pay almost $50 million in fines.
But there was no problem with the electronics. The stuck pedals and balky mats were scarce and fixable.
This is not a new phenomenon. Accusations that Audis were accelerating uncontrollably erupted in the mid-1980s. Proven untrue, the allegations still hurt Audi sales for decades.
We'd do well to remember that cars are far less likely to seize control than our overreactions and fears are.
