tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3376678998508716988.post6146391627641125422..comments2022-03-24T01:02:16.001-05:00Comments on My Dog Shoba: Toyota and the Stupid Tennessee WomanJohnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05579610684460155891noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3376678998508716988.post-36721864612843905742010-02-28T09:49:09.892-06:002010-02-28T09:49:09.892-06:00Well Mary, I still disagree. Toyota does share so...Well Mary, I still disagree. Toyota does share some of the blame. But any vehivle built has the potential to fail. If the woman was able to go, as Jenny said, 6 miles at over 100 MPH (let's say it was 120 for easy math) that still gives her 3 minutes to do something. It takes about a second, maybe two, for a person to realize "oh crap, this car is speeding up!" Another second to try the brakes. No luck and we're down three or four seconds. That would accelerate you to near 90 MPH. It takes another second to shift into neutral. then the car starts slowing down. Even in the fancy Lexus with the electronic starter, it's three more seconds of pushing the starter button to shut off the engine. Entire problem avoided in 10 - 15 seconds. She had three minutes and chose to make a phone call during that time. Talking on the phone, even hands free, is one of the biggest causes of accidents at normal speeds. Doing it while zipping along at over 100 while inpanic mode? She's very lucky she didn't kill herself or anyone else. <br /><br />Toyota had years to dal with it, true. But they were looking at statistics and probables. They've had a few dozen failures out of millions of cars. Not exactly damning evidence. And they've had not so good luck finding the real source of the problem, needing mainly to rely on "victims" with unreliable memories of the events.<br /><br />She had plenty of time to fix the problem if she had known what to do and had not panicked.<br /><br />It's not hindsight that makes me write this. It's forethought. Every time you drive a car, you should be aware of not only your situation, but what to do if things go bad.<br /><br />During my near miss of the pickup that slid into my lane, I did not panic. Had I done so, I might have tried to hit the brakes first, which would have sent me spinning into the truck. Or frozen all together, whereby I would have just slammed into the truck. Instead, I quite calmly and gently swerved onto the shoulder and it missed me. Was I lucky? Heck yes. Very much so. But I also kept my head on and did what needed to be done.<br /><br />Tennesee woman did not. She panicked. I saw images of my wife and kids and parents and siblings and even some friends during that close call. But I never once thought, hmm... I think I'll make a phone call! <br /><br />There are dozens of cases where vehicles (it seems mostly Lexus') go accelerating out of control. Most end up fine, as this woman's did. Some end tragically. At least one guy, who remembered hearing advice to put the car in neutral, was able to drive his Lexus all the way back to the dealer using the shifter to control the power!<br /><br />What I'm saying here mainly is, I'm tired of people overdramatizing an event that they had lots of control over. This woman will probably get a nice large settlement from her "ordeal". Meanwhile Toyota gets raked across the coals for being a business. <br /><br />Strange that I didn't hear any airplane recalls or lawsuits against Airbus when that flight went down in the Hudson river. And disaster was averted why? Because the pilots knew what to do even in the event that happened that was so very unlikely. They did not panic, and they sure as heck didn't try to call their wives. They did what they needed to do, they knew their vehicle, and they had a lot of luck doing it.<br /><br />Maybe if people who drove cars would pay more attention to safety and less to what fancy car they get to drive, there would be fewer accidents. Except people, when it comes to driving, can be idiots.Johnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05579610684460155891noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3376678998508716988.post-4421296570408148632010-02-28T01:37:40.017-06:002010-02-28T01:37:40.017-06:00That woman had a matter of seconds to deal with an...That woman had a matter of seconds to deal with an unexpected, life-threatening situation. Toyota had years to do something to prevent it.<br /><br />If she is an idiot because she panicked when she suddenly found her life flashing befor her eyes, then what does that make the decision-makers of Toyota, who had years in a non-emergent situation to rectify these problems before they became big news that could bring their entire empire to the brink of financial ruin?<br /><br />Toyota <i>is</i> the bad guy, because customers have been reporting the litany of problems that are now getting media attention for around 9 years and were given the brush off.<br /><br />Also, when you pay the amount of money it costs to purchase a Lexus, it is reasonable to expect that, other than ordinary wear & tear, the vehicle will operate within certain parameters.<br /><br />As a person who regularly drives the Iowa speed limit of 55, I find it uncomfortable even to purposely accelerate to 70 on the interstate. I'm sure I would likely panic if my car suddenly decided it wanted to go 100mph all by itself. I don't believe that makes me an idiot or irresponsible.<br /><br />Toyota chose to prioritize their bottom line over the safety of their customers. Being vilified in the press is a small price compared to what was paid by those who put their trust in what they had every right to expect was a reliable, safe vehicle.<br /><br />I'm sure the leaders of Toyota are not even close to being the only transgressors, and it's possible there are even worse decisions being made by their competitors. Let's hope this is a wake up call for everyone who puts profit over people.<br /><br />What goes around WILL come around.<br /><br />(I second Jenny's thanks for your tips. I hope nobody I know ever has to use them!)Mary Quite Contrary (Steph)noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3376678998508716988.post-74006018444863535692010-02-27T13:58:40.029-06:002010-02-27T13:58:40.029-06:00It's easy to let people off the hook by saying...It's easy to let people off the hook by saying hindsight is 20/20. But the simple fact is that she did have six miles to try something else, and putting the car in neutral didn't occur to her. I don't think we can assume she "tried putting her car into reverse" either. That would have most definately killed the engine or made the vehicle that much harder to control. Yes people have lost their lives, yes others have been scared, but I don't think calling Toyota the "bad guy" is accurate though. 60 incidents out of 4 million cars is a pretty small percentage when it comes to recalls. The media and the public are just as much to blame. The first for scaring people and sensationalizing the story, and the second for not knowing enough about their own vehicles to do the right thing in an emergency. I've seen first hand the results of people talking on the phone - even bluetooth, voice activated phones - who weren't paying attention to their driving under normal situations. The woman panicked. If that's her normal response in an emergency, then she has no business being in the driver seat of such a deadly weapon. To do otherwise makes her an idiot, or at the very least irresponsible.Johnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05579610684460155891noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3376678998508716988.post-67864889899541841802010-02-27T09:24:44.849-06:002010-02-27T09:24:44.849-06:00It's easy to say what she should have done in ...It's easy to say what she should have done in hindsight. She did try putting the car into reverse and I imagine she tried other things as well. I don't think you can assume she "dialed" the phone. It's likely her bluetooth responded to voice commands. I know I'd want to hear Jason's voice and advice in a situation like that. Toyota is the obvious bad guy here. The company is not addressing the electrical problem at root and are trying to put it off as a floor mat issue. People have lost their lives. I don't think it's fair to call this woman an idiot for reacting normally. I'm impressed she managed not to hit anything for 6 miles of being at the wheel of an out of control vehicle. <br />But thanks for your tips. I'll try to remember them if I ever find myself in a similar situation. I'm all for more increased driver's ed.ssouthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06621157647829439359noreply@blogger.com