SocraticGadfly: Toyota, Audi and sudden acceleration

March 11, 2010

Toyota, Audi and sudden acceleration

When first reading about Toyota's sudden acceleration problems, and without excusing its fumbled response to the situation, I wondered whether, like Audi's similar problem in the late 1980s, we weren't seeing, in part at least, driver error.

And now, Richard Schmidt, who helped work on the Audi investigation, says exactly that.

As for people who think drivers wouldn't freeze and panic that long, the recent Prius "sudden acceleration" saga of James Sikes suggests, oh yes they would — or, at least, they could.

So, without defending Toyota and its response, let's not rush to judgment, either. Schmidt may be right.

And, per a new post, I'm wondering if Mr. Sikes isn't lawsuit fishing.

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