Narrative of KinderCare Crash offered below by Charlene Blake.
Feel free to share additional comments and information:
suddenunintendedacceleration@gmail.com
If
one examines the two vehicles involved closely, it's easy to see that the damage
incurred is out of line with the assessment that the Dodge Durango somehow
catapulted the Toyota Solara into this KinderCare facility. First of all, the
trajectory was anything but straight. The Solara angled back from the street
toward the daycare in a virtual modified U-shape. The Solara careened over a
median, over a curb, through mature shrubs, into an exterior wall and then
traveled deep within the building into a second room. It came to rest not far
for the back wall of the facility. There are numerous pictures of black skid
marks within the building on the floor of the rooms the Solara came in contact
with.
The
Solara is NOT a billiard ball that was hit in such a way to send it plowing
through a building at a very odd angle. Further, the rear of the Solara shows no
significant damage. The Dodge Durango was driven away from the scene so the
impact did not affect its function. From all signs of the two vehicles, it
appears the accident was a fender-bender...but not just any fender-bender. The
Solara driver reported that the vehicle continued to gain speed after the hit by
the Durango and that the steering was not working. Both these statements coupled
with the trajectory of the Solara fit a sudden unintended acceleration event
possibility.
Was
the Durango impact significant enough to trigger an electronic sudden unintended
acceleration event in the Toyota Solara? How likely is such an event? Several
world-renowned experts (ones who Toyota would rather you not know about for
obvious reasons) have highlighted more than one way an ELECTRONICALLY-induced
sudden unintended acceleration event can occur.
Toyota's
electronic throttle control system software was found to have glitches that
could cause such an event. Worse, such an electronic glitch could render the
fail-safe (way to stop the SUA) INEFFECTIVE. Result? The Toyota could be a
runaway stoppable only by impact. Even then, the engine will continue revving
forward until something stops forward (or backward as the case may be)
momentum.
What
has Toyota admitted to regarding ELECTRONIC sudden unintended acceleration?
Absolutely nothing, of course! It has washed its corporate hands clean of all
things SUA-related since that huge $1.2 BILLION DOJ settlement. In the meantime,
the NHTSA and Toyota have received countless complaints about Toyota and Lexus
vehicles "taking off," "having a mind of its own," "going airborne," etc.
Storefront crashes and crashes-into-buildings/homes continue with a
disproportionate number attributed to Toyota and Lexus vehicles.
There's
a HUGE push to show driver "pedal misapplication" and much reference to this
being a problem with "elderly" drivers. Drivers own complaints (showing
remarkable similarity if one compares notes among these types of accidents) are
discounted. Worse, drivers are discredited...some say even targeted...by those
who wish to keep the truth from surfacing.
Let's
see...have we seen an automaker hide key safety-related information before? Have
we seen any cases where the NHTSA has even covered for an automaker in such
unconscionable actions? OK...you get the idea. THINK...why would an automaker
wish to keep ELECTRONIC sudden unintended acceleration a secret? After all,
isn't SUA history and just about pesky floor mats, sticky accelerator pedals, or
better-yet driver error? NO! That's just what the automaker would like you to
believe...and there's a HUGE economic reason for that, isn't there?
Unfortunately,
what you do not know about ELECTRONICALLY-induced SUA can be an issue as many of
the current SUA victims are learning the hard way. An electronic sudden
unintended acceleration event can result (and has!) in jail time for the driver.
Why? Speculation of "pedal misapplication" is all that is left when the
historically-unreliable EDR (black box) shows no braking even when the driver
has two feet on the brake and incurs foot damage (see Tanya Spotts Lexus case).
The Toyota electronic throttle control system software glitch has been found not
to leave a fault code. The vehicle brakes which did NOT function at the time of
the ETCS-i software glitch show no signs of a failure mode. The DRIVER is
assumed GUILTY and the vehicle is found fault-free. It continues to happen
DAILY.
Absence
of proof is NOT proof of absence. This electronic SUA problem is one that every
driver should be concerned about. Drivers should be asking some tough questions
of the automaker, Toyota specifically.
Let's
not forget that these engines are complex and computer-driven. Electronics will
have glitches. The important factor is how these glitches are handled within and
what safety standards have been applied. An electronic software glitch which
renders a fail-safe ineffective is totally unacceptable. Don't make assumptions
that strict safety standards have been applied when they have
not!
