NY Prius crash

I'm sure some will never believe this, but . . . . . .

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N.Y. (AP) - A housekeeper who reported that her boss' Toyota Prius accelerated on its own and wouldn't brake as she hurtled toward a stone wall apparently had her foot on the gas pedal the entire time, according to a police investigation that concluded the driver, not the car, caused the accident.

The March 9 crash in a suburban New York driveway came the day after a driver in San Diego reported that the gas pedal got stuck on his 2008 Prius, resulting in a wild 94 mph ride on a Southern California freeway.

The two accidents raised new questions about Toyota's accelerators. The company had already recalled more than 8 million cars over gas pedals that could become stuck or be held down by floor mats.

But in the California case, Toyota said its tests showed the car's gas pedal, backup safety system and electronics were working fine.

And on Monday, Harrison police Capt. Anthony Marraccini said, "The vehicle accelerator in this case was depressed 100 percent at the time of collision, and there was absolutely no indication of any brake application."

The data came from the car's on-board event data recorder and computer and was downloaded during an inspection Wednesday joined by Toyota and the National Highway Safety Traffic Administration, which also concluded the car was not at fault. The event data recorder, or "black box," is designed to record the state of the car at the moment of an impact.

Marraccini said the 56-year-old driver "believes she depressed the brake, but that just simply isn't the case here." She did not try to deceive police, he said, and she faces no charges.

Toyota spokesman Wade Hoyt said owner of Priuses can feel secure that "if you step on the brake they'll stop, even if the accelerator is glued to the floor."

The company also issued a statement saying it would continue to investigate "reported incidents of unintended acceleration."

The New York driver, identified as Gloria Rosel, did not come to the door of the house where she works Monday. Calls there were not returned.

Marraccini said the car's computers showed that the Prius' top speed down the driveway was 35 mph; it slowed once when it hit a curb and it was going

27 mph when it hit the wall across the street from the driveway entrance.

The car's front end was wrecked but the driver was not seriously hurt.

The captain displayed a page from the computer readout that showed an accelerator sensor measuring 99.9 percent while a brake sensor showed zero. One critical finding, he said, was that although the throttle was fully open at the time of impact, the gas pedal returned to its normal position after the crash, indicating it did not stick.

Some consumer groups and safety experts have said the problems could be caused by faulty electronic throttles. Toyota has said it has found no evidence of problems with its electronics.

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Associated Press writer Ken Thomas in Washington contributed to this report.

Reply to
Ed Pawlowski
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ius

Yep, pedal confusion. Number one reason for runaway cars.

Just took delivery on a red 2010 prius. Now's the time to buy if you're looking for a toyota.

Reply to
jamesgangnc

However, i'll bet a lot of those reported accidents if the truth was known are people who are trying to get on the gravy train or trying to cover up their own failure.

The one certain thing is we the consumers will be the ones who end up footing the bill.

Reply to
sligoNoSPAMjoe

Yup. I believe it.

Reply to
Jean B.

ius

The problem is that the Toyota black box is proprietary and so how do we know that what they are reporting to the police is the truth. They could say anything, how would the police know if it was the truth or not??

Reply to
hrhofmann

They would print out the data from their reader, I am sure.

You guys are all paranoid.

Reply to
clare

"hr(bob) snipped-for-privacy@att.net" wrote

Maybe they have the boxes already rigged too. Maybe they add a box if none existed already. Maybe the NHSTA that was present is part of the cover up too. Maybe the police chief did not like the lady driving.

Reply to
Ed Pawlowski

Maybe they activated the time travel mode, took the car back before the crash, inserted a doctored monitor then traveled back to the present.

Harry K

Reply to
Harry K

Yeah, really. You just have to evaluate the probabilities. And I'd say the probability that Toyota is falsifying the data coming out of the computer in the NY case is about .01% compared to 99.99% probability the woman involved just stepped on the gas instead of the brake. It would be one hell of a big gamble on the part of Toyota. If they falsified data, this keeps happening, NHTSA engineers finally figure it out, the damage to Toyota would be irreparable.

This isn't a case where it ran away at highway speed. It was in a driveway when starting out, where this happens occasionally with ALL manufacturer's cars. She may not even realize that is what she did.

Reply to
trader4

If one of these dumb Toyota owners crashes into me, I'm going to sue the hell out of them. They're knowingly driving a dangerous vehicle. They should be jailed. Well, providing I live that is.

Reply to
TD

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