American Study Points to Driver Error in Most Toyota Accidents

Drivers of Toyota vehicles did not apply the brakes in at least 35 of the 58 crashes attributed to unintended acceleration, American car-safety regulators announced after examining data recorders.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration also discovered no indication of electronics-related causes for the crashes in studying the vehicles’ recorders, also known as black boxes, the agency announced today in a report to legislators.

The initial findings corroborate Toyota’s claim that no evidence of defects in electronic controls on its vehicles exists, and that drivers in many cases mistook the accelerator pedal for the brake pedal.

However, Toyota spokesperson Brian Lyons conceded last night that the capabilities of the automaker’s black boxes are limited because they normally record data only when the airbag is deployed.

“The data should also be independent corroborated, e.g., through physical evidence, other research, etc.,” Lyons wrote in an email to Automotive News.

Toyota builds the black boxes into the airbag sensor and calibrates the recorders to begin collecting data only when the airbag is activated, Lyons noted.

Since November of 2009, Toyota has recalled 9.4 million vehicles globally, including 7.5 million in the United States, for unintended acceleration issues related to floor mats and sticking gas pedals, Lyons wrote.

“At this early point in its investigation, NHTSA officials have drawn no conclusions about additional causes of unintended acceleration in Toyotas beyond the two defects already known -- pedal entrapment and sticking gas pedals,” the organization said in the report supplied for a briefing to legislators in Washington.

On top of the 60 percent of incidents where the brakes were not used, NHTSA discussed crashes in which drivers applied the brakes partially or the black box failed.

Toyota has performed more than 4,000 on-site inspections of vehicles and announced today that it has not discovered electronic throttle controls to be the culprit behind unintended acceleration.

“Toyota's own vehicle evaluations have confirmed that the remedies it developed for sticking accelerator pedal and potential accelerator pedal entrapment by an unsecured or incompatible floor mat are effective," the automaker said.

“We have also confirmed several different causes for unintended acceleration reports, including pedal entrapment by floor mats, pedal misapplication and vehicle functions where a slight increase in engine speed is normal, such as engine idle up from a cold start or air conditioning loads.”

In many accidents reviewed by federal regulators, the vehicle operator alleged unintended acceleration problems.