Isn't it time for national standards??
My BRAND NEW TOYOTA went through a Stop Sign and Toyota U.S.A. and Route 44 Toyota denied a problem.
Can you trust Toyota?
Toyota Sudden Acceleration Case Set To Begin In CA
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Noriko Uno was afraid of driving fast, often avoiding the freeway and taking the same route every day from her Upland home to and from her family's sushi restaurant. She had put only 10,000 miles on her 2006 Camry in about four years.
So when her car unexpectedly accelerated to speeds up to 100 mph on a street with a posted limit of 30, the 66-year-old bookkeeper did everything she could to slow down, stepping on the brake pedal and pulling the emergency brake handle as she swerved to avoid other vehicles.
Uno was killed when her car went onto a median and struck a telephone pole and a tree.
Hers is the first so-called "bellwether" case to go to trial that could determine whether Toyota Motor Corp. should be held liable for sudden unintended acceleration in its vehicles — a claim made by motorists that plagued the Japanese automaker and led to lawsuits, settlements and recalls of millions of its cars and SUVs.
"Toyota decided to make safety an option instead of a standard on their vehicles," said attorney Garo Mardirossian, who is representing Uno's husband and son. "They decided to save a few bucks, and by doing so, it cost lives."
Toyota has said there was no defect in Uno's Camry. The automaker has blamed such crashes on accelerators that got stuck, floor mats that trapped the gas pedal and driver error. The company has settled some wrongful death cases and agreed to pay more than $1 billion to resolve lawsuits where owners said the value of their vehicles plummeted after Toyota's recalls because of sudden-acceleration concerns.
The Uno trial, starting with jury selection Monday, is expected to last two months. The proceeding represents the first of the bellwether cases in state courts, which are chosen by a judge to help predict the potential outcome of other lawsuits making similar claims.
Other cases expected to go to trial in state courts this year include one in Oklahoma and another in Michigan. There are more than 80 similar cases filed in state courts.
The Toyota litigation has gone on parallel tracks in state and federal court, with both sides agreeing to settlements so far. A federal judge in Orange County is dealing with wrongful death and economic loss lawsuits that have been consolidated. He's expected to give final approval to the economic loss settlement next week.
Federal lawsuits contend that Toyota's electronic throttle control system was defective and caused vehicles to surge unexpectedly. Plaintiffs' attorneys have deposed Toyota employees, reviewed software code and pored over thousands of documents.
Toyota has denied the allegation and neither the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration nor NASA found evidence of electronic problems. A trial in one of the lead cases is scheduled for November.
The Uno trial will likely focus on why Toyota didn't have a mechanism to override the accelerator if the gas and brake pedals are pressed simultaneously in Camrys sold in the U.S. The automaker put the brake override system in its European fleet, Mardirossian said.
Toyota said Uno's vehicle was equipped with a "state-of-the-art" braking system and denied that any defect played a role in her death.
"We are confident the evidence will show that a brake override system would not have prevented this accident and that there was no defect in Mrs. Uno's vehicle," the automaker said in a statement about the upcoming trial.
Legal observers said Uno's attorneys won't necessarily have to prove what was wrong with the vehicle, but show that the accident could have been prevented with a brake override system.
"If the plaintiff succeeds in convincing a jury it wasn't human error, that it was attributed to the car, I think they have a strong case," said Gregory Keating, a law professor at the University of Southern California. "Jurors, as drivers, are likely to believe strongly that cars shouldn't become uncontrollable in this way."
Toyota has been successful in court before. Two years ago, a federal jury in New York found the automaker wasn't responsible for a 2005 crash that the driver blamed on the floor mats or defects with the electronic throttle system.
It was nearly four years ago when Uno, who was out grocery shopping and depositing receipts from the restaurant, died. Witnesses told police they saw Uno swerve to avoid hitting an oncoming truck, according to the lawsuit.
Mardirossian said Uno was a cautious driver and neither floor mats nor driver error were to blame. He said witnesses heard the Camry engine racing and saw brake lights going on and off. Pulling the handbrake had "zero effect," Mardirossian said.
"Imagine her strapped into her Toyota Camry driving 100 mph knowing the next move would be fatal," he said. "She saved many lives by veering off into that center median knowing that death was near."
That same day — Aug. 28, 2009 — off-duty California Highway Patrol Officer Mark Saylor and three family members were killed on a suburban San Diego freeway when their 2009 Lexus ES 350 reached speeds of more than 120 mph, struck a sport utility vehicle, launched off an embankment, rolled several times and burst into flames. A 911 call captured Saylor's brother-in-law telling the others to pray before the car crashed.
Toyota, which makes the luxury Lexus brand, agreed to settle a lawsuit filed by the victims' family for $10 million. An inquiry into the crash led to recalls of millions of Toyota vehicles. Investigators said a wrong-size floor mat trapped the accelerator and caused the accident. [Would Toyota U.S.A. settle with a GAG Order if it were the dealer's fault? Why the GAG Order? The dealer got the GAG Order lifted.]
The Uno family lawsuit, which claims product liability and negligence, seeks general and punitive damages. Mardirossian said Uno's relatives want to have a jury decide that the crash was not her fault.
"They want to make sure to get their loved one's name cleared," he said.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=204214484
Lexus Crash: An Avoidable Tragedy
Toyota's Recall Highlights A Problem That Could Have Been Fixed
Posted: Dec 10, 2009| By:
Recently, Toyota Motor America recalled over 4 million of its Toyota brand and Lexus brand vehicles to stem a problem that's hung over the automaker's head for months.
Back in August, a family of four crashed in a Lexus ES350 after the driver noticed he couldn't get the car to slow down. With a floor mat stuck underneath the accelerator pedal, the car traveled out of control, through busy intersections under its own uncontrollable power.
Traveling at a rate of over 100 MPH, the car finally came to a stop after it bounded through an intersection at a dead-end road, swiped another car, crashed through a fence, jumped over a dirt berm and landed into a riverbed below. All four people died from the injuries sustained in the crash and the ensuing fire. The driver of the other vehicle escaped with minor injuries.
Toyota's advice for owners of the above vehicles: Until the company sends you a letter asking you to come into the dealership, it is asking owners of specific Toyota and Lexus models to take out any removable driver’s floor mat and NOT replace it with any other floor mat.
The details of Toyota's safety advisory and recall are now known (view our story on the recall), with hopefully no further accidents. Toyota says the full scope of the recall, which includes the shaving of accelerator pedals and the installation of a brake override system in some models, could take a few months.
But, absent in the dry discussion of the recall are two critical things: the loss of a young family and the tragic fact that the entire thing could have been avoided.
On Their Way To Soccer Practice
Mark Saylor lived the kind of life most kids dream about. After a childhood playing sports and trading baseball cards, he grew up to join the Air Force, where he traveled the world, including a stint of two years in Okinawa, Japan. Eventually he moved to his final Air Force commission in Sacramento, achieving the rank of Sergeant E4. He was well regarded amongst his friends and fellow soldiers.
Saylor's life of service didn't stop with the Air Force, however. He joined the California Highway Patrol after the Air Force, serving for 20 years.
In California as a CHP, Saylor would go on to meet his wife to-be, Cleofe. Cleofe Lastrella, born in the Philippines but raised in the Midway Islands and San Francisco, was a smart and pretty young woman with a degree in biochemistry from UC Davis. In 1995, the two wed in Vallejo, California.
One year later they gave birth to their only daughter, Mahala, who took to her father's love of sports. She was an avid soccer player and loved playing with her friends. After graduating from St. John's Middle School earlier in the year, she was due to start high school in the fall.
The morning of August 28, 2009 started like any other for the Saylor family, save for the fact that it was a Friday. Officer Saylor started early like he normally did -- 5:30 a.m. -- with a brief break in the morning to take his car for service at Bob Baker Toyota/Lexus. He brought in his 2006 Lexus IS250 for a problem with the CD player and was given a loaner vehicle, a 2009 Lexus ES350. He left the dealership at 9:35 in the morning, returned to work at the California Highway Patrol Special Duties School and finished his shift at 2:00 p.m. It being Friday, he was looking forward to spending time with his family.
That afternoon Saylor returned home to the family's residence in Chula Vista, where he picked up his wife, daughter and brother-in-law (Cleofe's brother, Chris Lastrella). Officer John Concepcion, Saylor's close friend at the CHP, said the family usually spent Friday evenings at Mahala's soccer practice. They were on their way to such a practice on Friday afternoon when their Lexus experienced problems.
Chris Lastrella, riding in the back seat next to Mahala, called 911.
"The accelerator is stuck," he said to the operator. "We're approaching an intersection..."
Santee, California's intersection of SR 125 and Mission Gorge Road is one of the busiest intersections in San Diego County. The Saylors and Lastrella died only moments later.
An Avoidable Tragedy
Any tragedy of this sort leaves plenty of tough, unanswered questions. Chief among them is: why couldn't Mark Saylor get his car stopped? With the sort of rigorous training a California Highway Patrol officer goes through, there's little doubt that Saylor tried every possible option in his attempt to slow the car and save his family.
Toyota called the issue one of "pedal entrapment," brought about by the car's floor mat sticking under the pedal. The vehicle, on loan from Bob Baker Toyota/Lexus, actually had the wrong floor mat installed. It was an all-weather floor mat from a Lexus SUV, which -- given the angle of the ES350's floor and its distance to the bottom of the accelerator pedal -- caused the jamming. Saylor and his family were caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. It was a complete and utter tragedy.
Was it Toyota's fault? Was it the dealership's fault? It's tough to say, but we can be certain it wasn't Mark Saylor's fault.
When the news broke that the vehicle had the wrong floor mats in it, our hearts sank. Nobody double-checked it. Nobody from the dealership considered what might occur. But, how could they see the future, right? In a world of a thousand possibilities, it would be difficult for them to expect acceleration problems with any of their vehicles, let alone the Lexus they loaned Mark Saylor.
We believed that until something we learned this week.
When the San Diego County Sheriff's Department Report No. 09056454.1 became public information last week, we learned that the very same car that Mark Saylor drove on August 28 had been reported as having unintended acceleration problems.
Earlier in the week the Saylor family died, Frank Bernard and his wife picked up the very same loaner vehicle -- a white Lexus ES350 with California dealer plate 6DRT323. In a police report, Bernard told the San Diego Sheriffs that that as he was merging onto a freeway, he saw a truck nearby and accelerated briskly to get in front of it. Once in front of the truck, he let his foot off the accelerator. The vehicle "kept accelerating on its own, to about 80-85 MPH."
Bernard said he stepped on the brakes and tried to lift up on the accelerator with his right foot. He got over to the shoulder, was able to slow the car to 50-60 MPH, but was unable to stop the car's ignition (the Lexus has a push-button start system that requires a three-second hold to turn off the car). Trying everything he could, he eventually placed the car into neutral. The engine "made a very loud, whining, racing sound" but the car stopped.
He was safe.
Bernard noticed the floor mat had become stuck under the accelerator pedal. After he cleared the mat, he drove normally, although likely a little shaken.
When Bernard returned the vehicle to Bob Baker Toyota/Lexus on the evening of August 25, he reported the problems to the receptionist.
"I think the mat caused it," he told the receptionist upon handing her the keys. "You need to tell someone."
Back in August, a family of four crashed in a Lexus ES350 after the driver noticed he couldn't get the car to slow down. With a floor mat stuck underneath the accelerator pedal, the car traveled out of control, through busy intersections under its own uncontrollable power.
Traveling at a rate of over 100 MPH, the car finally came to a stop after it bounded through an intersection at a dead-end road, swiped another car, crashed through a fence, jumped over a dirt berm and landed into a riverbed below. All four people died from the injuries sustained in the crash and the ensuing fire. The driver of the other vehicle escaped with minor injuries.
Vehicles Involved in Toyota's Gas Pedal Recall
| 2007 - 2010 Toyota Camry |
| 2005 - 2010 Toyota Avalon |
| 2004 - 2009 Toyota Prius |
| 2005 - 2010 Toyota Tacoma |
| 2007 - 2010 Toyota Tundra |
| 2007 - 2010 Lexus ES350 |
| 2006 - 2010 Lexus IS250 |
| 2006 - 2010 Lexus IS350 |
Toyota's advice for owners of the above vehicles: Until the company sends you a letter asking you to come into the dealership, it is asking owners of specific Toyota and Lexus models to take out any removable driver’s floor mat and NOT replace it with any other floor mat.
The details of Toyota's safety advisory and recall are now known (view our story on the recall), with hopefully no further accidents. Toyota says the full scope of the recall, which includes the shaving of accelerator pedals and the installation of a brake override system in some models, could take a few months.
But, absent in the dry discussion of the recall are two critical things: the loss of a young family and the tragic fact that the entire thing could have been avoided.
On Their Way To Soccer Practice
Mark Saylor lived the kind of life most kids dream about. After a childhood playing sports and trading baseball cards, he grew up to join the Air Force, where he traveled the world, including a stint of two years in Okinawa, Japan. Eventually he moved to his final Air Force commission in Sacramento, achieving the rank of Sergeant E4. He was well regarded amongst his friends and fellow soldiers.
Saylor's life of service didn't stop with the Air Force, however. He joined the California Highway Patrol after the Air Force, serving for 20 years.
In California as a CHP, Saylor would go on to meet his wife to-be, Cleofe. Cleofe Lastrella, born in the Philippines but raised in the Midway Islands and San Francisco, was a smart and pretty young woman with a degree in biochemistry from UC Davis. In 1995, the two wed in Vallejo, California.
One year later they gave birth to their only daughter, Mahala, who took to her father's love of sports. She was an avid soccer player and loved playing with her friends. After graduating from St. John's Middle School earlier in the year, she was due to start high school in the fall.
The morning of August 28, 2009 started like any other for the Saylor family, save for the fact that it was a Friday. Officer Saylor started early like he normally did -- 5:30 a.m. -- with a brief break in the morning to take his car for service at Bob Baker Toyota/Lexus. He brought in his 2006 Lexus IS250 for a problem with the CD player and was given a loaner vehicle, a 2009 Lexus ES350. He left the dealership at 9:35 in the morning, returned to work at the California Highway Patrol Special Duties School and finished his shift at 2:00 p.m. It being Friday, he was looking forward to spending time with his family.
That afternoon Saylor returned home to the family's residence in Chula Vista, where he picked up his wife, daughter and brother-in-law (Cleofe's brother, Chris Lastrella). Officer John Concepcion, Saylor's close friend at the CHP, said the family usually spent Friday evenings at Mahala's soccer practice. They were on their way to such a practice on Friday afternoon when their Lexus experienced problems.
Chris Lastrella, riding in the back seat next to Mahala, called 911.
"The accelerator is stuck," he said to the operator. "We're approaching an intersection..."
Santee, California's intersection of SR 125 and Mission Gorge Road is one of the busiest intersections in San Diego County. The Saylors and Lastrella died only moments later.
An Avoidable Tragedy
Any tragedy of this sort leaves plenty of tough, unanswered questions. Chief among them is: why couldn't Mark Saylor get his car stopped? With the sort of rigorous training a California Highway Patrol officer goes through, there's little doubt that Saylor tried every possible option in his attempt to slow the car and save his family.
Toyota called the issue one of "pedal entrapment," brought about by the car's floor mat sticking under the pedal. The vehicle, on loan from Bob Baker Toyota/Lexus, actually had the wrong floor mat installed. It was an all-weather floor mat from a Lexus SUV, which -- given the angle of the ES350's floor and its distance to the bottom of the accelerator pedal -- caused the jamming. Saylor and his family were caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. It was a complete and utter tragedy.
Was it Toyota's fault? Was it the dealership's fault? It's tough to say, but we can be certain it wasn't Mark Saylor's fault.
When the news broke that the vehicle had the wrong floor mats in it, our hearts sank. Nobody double-checked it. Nobody from the dealership considered what might occur. But, how could they see the future, right? In a world of a thousand possibilities, it would be difficult for them to expect acceleration problems with any of their vehicles, let alone the Lexus they loaned Mark Saylor.
We believed that until something we learned this week.
When the San Diego County Sheriff's Department Report No. 09056454.1 became public information last week, we learned that the very same car that Mark Saylor drove on August 28 had been reported as having unintended acceleration problems.
Earlier in the week the Saylor family died, Frank Bernard and his wife picked up the very same loaner vehicle -- a white Lexus ES350 with California dealer plate 6DRT323. In a police report, Bernard told the San Diego Sheriffs that that as he was merging onto a freeway, he saw a truck nearby and accelerated briskly to get in front of it. Once in front of the truck, he let his foot off the accelerator. The vehicle "kept accelerating on its own, to about 80-85 MPH."
Bernard said he stepped on the brakes and tried to lift up on the accelerator with his right foot. He got over to the shoulder, was able to slow the car to 50-60 MPH, but was unable to stop the car's ignition (the Lexus has a push-button start system that requires a three-second hold to turn off the car). Trying everything he could, he eventually placed the car into neutral. The engine "made a very loud, whining, racing sound" but the car stopped.
He was safe.
Bernard noticed the floor mat had become stuck under the accelerator pedal. After he cleared the mat, he drove normally, although likely a little shaken.
When Bernard returned the vehicle to Bob Baker Toyota/Lexus on the evening of August 25, he reported the problems to the receptionist.
"I think the mat caused it," he told the receptionist upon handing her the keys. "You need to tell someone."
The message never got to the right person.
Three days later, Mark Saylor picked up the same Lexus ES350 with the same all-weather floor mat installed. Hours later, he and his family were dead.
A Problem To Be Fixed
Consumer Reports recently uncovered NHTSA's log books from 2008 that showed Toyota and Lexus vehicles accounted for over 40% of the complaints about uncontrolled acceleration in 2008 models. That's a significant percentage, especially considering that Toyota doesn't sell 40% of the cars on the market (it sells about 15% of all cars).
When Toyota's President, Akio Toyoda, recently went on record to say, "Toyota has become too big and distant from its customers," we knew the tragedy had hit home at the mother company.
"We are grasping for salvation," Toyoda said.
It's the cold, hard truth of the safety business that it usually takes a tragedy to jumpstart a widespread innovation that eventually saves lives.
It's heartbreaking that Mark Saylor and his family became that tragedy, especially when it's now clear they didn't have to suffer such a fate.
http://autos.aol.com/article/toyota-tragedy-saylor-family/
Home » **Audio** 911 Tape from crash that killed CHP officer and family
**Audio** 911 Tape from crash that killed CHP officer and family
Listen: Santee Car Crash 911 Call (opens in new QuickTime window)
RELATED STORY:
Police release 911 tape in deadly SoCal crash
SANTEE, Calif. — Four people aboard a runaway car told each other to hold on and pray moments before their 911 call ended in screams and a fiery crash in San Diego County.
The police recording of the call details the disturbing last seconds of the Aug. 28 crash that killed a California Highway Patrol officer and three family members.
On the 50-second recording released Thursday, passenger Chris Lastrella tells the dispatcher that the accelerator is stuck. The dispatcher asks if they can turn the car off.
“We’re in trouble. There’s no brake,” Lastrella said.
Someone tells the others in the car to hold on and pray, then woman screams and the call ends.
Witnesses said the weaving Lexus topped speeds of 120 mph before launching off an embankment and crashed and burst into flames in Santee.
Officer Mark Saylor, the driver, his wife Cleofe, their daughter Mahala, 13, and Lastrella were killed. Lastrella was Cleofe Saylor’s brother.
A preliminary investigation indicated the accelerator may have become entrapped by a rubber floor mat, sheriff’s Sgt. Scott Hill said.
Hill did not know if Saylor tried to shift the vehicle into neutral or turn it off, which might have been impossible if the car was experiencing a malfunction.
The car was a loaner from Bob Baker Lexus El Cajon. Company vice president Dave Ezratty refrained from commenting until the investigation is completed.
National Highway Safety Transportation Administration investigators looked at the vehicle because of a 2007 recall involving after-market “all-weather” floor mats which could slip and catch on the gas pedal, agency spokesman Ray Tyson said, adding the probe will determine whether there may be another safety defect.
FIGHTING A LOSING BATTLE!....STUCK WITH THE VEHICLE....
Uploaded on Nov 2, 2007
A growing number of people are complaining about their 2007 Toyota Tacomas. Problems with the vehicle include a sudden acceleration, even when drivers said they pressed on the brakes.
Frank Visconi:
www.trucktrend.com, 1 Mar 2007 [cached]
Toyota pickups scrutinized for ‘sudden acceleration’ « Sudden Acceleration Information Group
suddenacceleration.com, 12 April 2008 [cached]
suddenacceleration.com, 12 April 2008 [cached]
WASHINGTON -It's a wonder Frank Visconi walked away from the crash that turned his new Toyota Tacoma pickup into an unrecognizable mush of metal, plastic and dirt. But Visconi has a different wonder - why Toyota doesn't believe his complaints of sudden acceleration.
Visconi, a retired vehicle theft investigator, describes driving down a rain-slicked freeway north of Nashville last June when he tapped the brakes to avoid another car. Instead of slowing, he says, the engine revved, spinning out the truck's rear wheels.his way to a Toyota dealership to have it examined for uncontrolled acceleration. Since April 2007, he had sent letters to Toyota, dealers and his insurance company detailing several instances where he says the engine surged when he hit the brake, including a couple of cases where he had to mash the pedal to keep the vehicle under control.
"Toyota has said to us they've found nothing wrong with the truck and it's our fault," Visconi said, referring to about a dozen Tacoma owners with similar complaints. "They're basically calling us all stupid."
...
On the day of the crash, Visconi was on
It's a wonder Frank Visconi ...
www.freep.com, 7 April 2008 [cached]
www.freep.com, 7 April 2008 [cached]
It's a wonder Frank Visconi walked away from the crash that turned his new Toyota Tacoma pickup into an unrecognizable mush of metal, plastic and dirt.But Visconi has a different wonder -- why Toyota doesn't believe his complaints of sudden acceleration.
Visconi, a retired vehicle theft investigator, describes driving down a rain-slicked freeway north of Nashville last June when he tapped the brakes to avoid another car. Instead of slowing, he says, the engine revved, spinning out the truck's rear wheels.his way to a Toyota dealership to have it examined for uncontrolled acceleration.Since April 2007, he had sent letters to Toyota, dealers and his insurance company detailing several instances where he says the engine surged when he hit the brake, including a couple of cases where he had to mash the pedal to keep the vehicle under control.
"Toyota has said to us they've found nothing wrong with the truck and it's our fault," Visconi said, referring to about a dozen Tacoma owners with similar complaints."They're basically calling us all stupid."FRANK VISCONI
Frank Visconi, a Tennessee retiree, says sudden acceleration caused his 2007 Toyota Tacoma to go off the road and roll several times last June.
...
On the day of the crash, Visconi was on
...
It's a wonder Frank Visconi ...
www.funbolt.com, 26 April 2008 [cached]
www.funbolt.com, 26 April 2008 [cached]
It's a wonder Frank Visconi walked away from the crash that turned his new Toyota Tacoma pickup into an unrecognizable mush of metal, plasticand dirt.But Visconi has a different wonder -- why Toyota doesn'tbelieve his complaints of sudden acceleration.
Visconi, a retired vehicle theft investigator, describes driving down a rain-slicked freeway north of Nashville last June when he tapped thebrakes to avoid another car.Instead of slowing, he says, the enginerevved, spinning out the truck's rear wheels.his way to a Toyota dealershipto have it examined for uncontrolled acceleration.Since April 2007,he had sent letters to Toyota, dealers and his insurance companydetailing several instances where he says the engine surged when he hit the brake, including a couple of cases where he had to mash thepedal to keep the vehicle under control.
"Toyota has said to us they've found nothing wrong with the truck andit's our fault," Visconi said, referring to about a dozen Tacomaowners with similar complaints."They're basically calling us allstupid."
...
On the day of the crash, Visconi was on
It's a wonder Frank Visconi walked away from the crash that turned his new Toyota Tacoma pickup into an unrecognizable mush of metal, plastic and dirt.But Visconi has a different wonder -- why Toyota doesn't believe his complaints of sudden acceleration.
Visconi, a retired vehicle theft investigator, describes driving down a rain-slicked freeway north of Nashville last June when he tapped the brakes to avoid another car. Instead of slowing, he says, the engine revved, spinning out the truck's rear wheels.his way to a Toyota dealership to have it examined for uncontrolled acceleration.Since April 2007, he had sent letters to Toyota, dealers and his insurance company detailing several instances where he says the engine surged when he hit the brake, including a couple of cases where he had to mash the pedal to keep the vehicle under control.
" Toyota has said to us they've found nothing wrong with the truck and it's our fault," Visconi said, referring to about a dozen Tacoma owners with similar complaints."They're basically calling us all stupid."
...
On the day of the crash, Visconi was on 
No comments:
Post a Comment