Comments on: Jury clears Toyota in Uno case

By: VehDyn

VehDyn — Mon, 21 Oct 2013 22:48:29 +0000

Max: While it is true that the final plaintiff theory for the Uno case dropped all theories of electronic induced throttle opening, that was the main claim when the lawsuit was first filed. It was only after facts emerged about the precipitating accident and evidence that Mrs Uno’s foot was on the accelerator when the collision occurred that a new theory emerged that was just ad implausible as all of the cosmic ray and EMI nonsense.

By: Aric

Aric — Mon, 14 Oct 2013 19:01:13 +0000

MattS: Indeed. Here’s a simple question: Which can your car do faster? 0-60, or 60-0?

By: MattS

MattS — Mon, 14 Oct 2013 15:12:50 +0000

The brake override idea is stupid. From what I have read the breaks in nearly all cars are strong enough to bring the car to a complete stop even with the throttle wide open barring mechanical issues or overly sworn brake pads.

By: William Nuesslein

William Nuesslein — Mon, 14 Oct 2013 11:00:10 +0000

Holy cow, it took the jury 5 days to figure out an open and shut case. At least they came to the correct conclusion

By: DensityDuck

DensityDuck — Mon, 14 Oct 2013 04:21:00 +0000

On the one hand, it’s pretty stupid to think that car companies should expect that drivers will actually step on the gas and the brake simultaneously.

On the other hand, I’ve seen some funny stuff, and I’ve heard about funnier. People do weird things when they’re under unanticipated and unfamiliar stress, like suddenly their lane is ending and there’s a barrier but there’s cars and they can’t merge and their lane is ending AND THERE’S A BARRIER BUT THERE’S CARS and now they’ve driven straight into the wall at 50 miles an hour.

By: Max Kennerly, Esq. (@MaxKennerly)

Max Kennerly, Esq. (@MaxKennerly) — Mon, 14 Oct 2013 00:12:41 +0000

Walter: LOL. Point taken.

Either way, IIRC there’s one more starting this month and then two in November, and I think at least one is about the electronic control module. They might be about the floor mat, though.

By: Scott

Scott — Sun, 13 Oct 2013 12:56:23 +0000

Yeas ago I was talking to a friend of mine that works for a large car company doing controls. I said, “Toyota’s problem is that they didn’t have a brake override.” He said, “None of the car companies have a brake override.”

By: Walter Olson

Walter Olson — Sun, 13 Oct 2013 12:45:16 +0000

At least for certain values of “real.”

By: Max Kennerly

Max Kennerly — Sun, 13 Oct 2013 12:41:44 +0000

I’m not deep in the Toyota litigation, but it’s my understanding the Uno case wasn’t billed by the plaintiffs as a bellwether for sudden acceleration as a whole, it’s been a “brake override” case for some time. Media outlets that reported otherwise were simply wrong. There’s a couple real sudden acceleration cases nearing trial.