The Trouble with Toyotas: Should brake override systems be mandatory?

You’ve probably already read the story, or watched the chase video of the runaway Toyota Prius that had to be stopped by a police car Monday in California after the car’s accelerator became stuck. Now whether you can blame the car or the driver, it does bring up the question: If the gentleman’s Prius had a brake override system, would he have been put in that situation? Not every automaker agrees that these systems are an answer. Toyota Canada has already announced that it will install a brake override system on the 2005-2010 Tacoma and 2009-2010 Venza, 2008-2010 Sequoia, 2007-2010 Camry, 2005-2010 Avalon, and the 2007-2010 Lexus ES 350, 2006-2010 IS 350 and 2006-2010 IS 250 models. The automaker also said the systems will be included into future new production of most (but not all)  Toyota and Lexus models sold in Canada by the end of 2010. In Europe, the Big Three—Volkswagen, BMW and Mercedes-Benz—have brake overriding systems in all their cars. Here in North America, Nissan includes the system on all models. Mazda has already decided to install the systems in new cars and has weighed out the option of installing them in cars already on the road. While Chrysler, General Motors and Ford aren’t as consistent, installing them in some, but not all, vehicles. In Japan, Toyota’s troubles have also caused Honda, Suzuki, Mitsubishi, Daihatsu and Subaru to at least consider the override systems for their vehicles. But as demonstrated in the video above, Toyota Canada shows a car like its Corolla can brake safely even with the accelerator planted without a brake override system. So will adding the systems prevent these unintended acceleration scenarios? Or is it plainly driver error? What about those times when it’s advantageous to left-foot brake, like to settle a car’s weight distribution in corners? If these systems become mandatory, should they be able to be shut off (like electronic stability control systems for performance driving or track days? [Source: Kyoda News via UPI ]

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