"In a contest between the brakes and the gas, the gas always wins."

Not true. Car and Driver magazine tried this exact test with three vehicles a couple of months ago: a Camry, an Infiniti G37 and a supercharged Roush Mustang. With the gas pedal mashed to the floor at highway speed, they were able to stop all three of the vehicles in a little more distance than if they were just braking regularly. It required firm, constant braking, but the cars all stopped every time. The worst case was with the Roush Mustang, which due to its 500+ horsepower engine, took an extra 580 feet to brake to a stop from 100 mph, but the Camry only took an extra 16 feet to brake from 70 mph to a stop with the gas pedal down the whole time.

http://www.caranddriver.com/features/09q4/how_to_deal_with_unintended_acceleration-tech_dept

It seems to me that this problem is getting much more attention that it deserves. It is important that Toyota look at these incidents, research them, fix them, and be forthright about it all, and it is a tragedy for those families affected.

But given the actual risk, should we not be more worried about the apparently 4,000+ car accident injuries and deaths caused by drivers texting on their cell phones? Why does the media and American public misplace their concerns about real risk? Perhaps we need to address our society's innumeracy.

This guy is clearly anti Toyota.... what happened to balanced journalism.... enough on this subject already!!!!!! OVERKILL

I recently totaled my 2001 Toyota Echo in a rear-end collision where my anti-lock braking system failed. Could the problems go back that far?

My 2007 RAV-4 works just fine--except that the rear window wiper won't work when it's wet, only when it's not raining or snowing.

From a public relations point of view, this is similar to the Audi problem in the 1980's which devastated that brand here and changed how all cars have to start in Park.

Steve Wozniak's theory that it's in the cruise control unit would account for both acceleration and braking logic errors.

Why are they focusing so low down on the chain of control?

Perhaps not related to the Toyota problems, I'm convinced that a major cause of "runaway" vehicles is the driver's using his or her left foot to brake. In panic stop situations the driver stomps down with both feet, or as the car decelerates the gas pedal gets pressed as well, causing the car to accelerate. In a contest between the brakes and the gas, the gas always wins.

add to previous message

The Air France plane had flown through a thunder storm.

I think that most modern cars have electronic control of the transmission, which means that when you move the shifter you are sending a signal to the computer. So shifting into neutral may do nothing if the computer is wigged-out.

Your guest says Toyota has been using "drive-by-wire"controls since 2000. The Air France plane that plunged into the ocean months ago flying from South America to Paris was one of a new generation of "fly-by-wire" planes.

A connection???

Aren't commercial aircraft also increasingly being "flown by wire"?

this is so so boring....
enough already, people die everyday in auto crashes,

move on, try doing some real journalism,
there has been nothing NEW on this topic reported in weeks..

do you remember the scene in the Updike novel when the Toyota executive chews out Rabbit for the bad American work ethic etc.?