In November 2009, Toyota initiated a recall on some of its cars which drivers reported to have a problem. The problem reported was that the car would “unintentionally accelerate”. Allegedly, while driving as usual, the car would unexpectedly accelerate when the driver intended to brake (you can read more about the incident here). This resulted in millions of cars being recalled and Toyota being fined over $1billion.
Apparently, the cause of the unintended acceleration was either:
- the accelerator pedal being caught under a defective floor mat, or
- the accelerator pedal having mechanical issues, resulting in it not returning to it’s initial position, or
- a combination of both.
Both explanations are mechanical in nature. However, in an episode of the Revisionist History podcast, Malcolm Gladwell highlighted an alternate explanation for the situation.
With the help of people from some reputable “car people” they tested a Toyota which were manufactured in the same year as the recalled cars. Curiously, they couldn’t recreate the unintended acceleration which were reported by many drivers.
On top of that, in all the variation of them trying to get the car to accelerate unintentionally, they discovered one thing: the brakes still work. It doesn’t matter that they were flying by at 60mph or 80mph. When the driver stepped on the brakes, the car came to a stop. Slowly maybe, but surely.
The conclusion must be that the “unintended acceleration” was likely due to driver error: where the driver (being in an unfamiliar car or inexperienced in driving, etc.) stepped on the wrong pedal. Instead of stepping on the brakes to stop the car, the driver stepped on the accelerator. Hence, the “unintended acceleration”. You can listen to the podcast here.
Are we becoming increasingly reliant on our cars to do the driving for us?
When a Tesla running on autopilot, with the driver’s hands off the wheel, crashes who is to be blamed?
It’s not the car. It’s the driver.
Here’s my concern: are we becoming increasingly reliant on our cars to do the driving for us?
Being a driver, I think the responsibility of driving lies solely on myself and I think anyone who is looking to purchase a new car (or drive after an extended period of not driving) should review these few things before stepping into one:
One: Know Your Basics
Am I familiar with the basics of driving? No, seriously. It’s easy to imagine a scenario where you are caught in a situation where you have to perform an unfamiliar maneuver. Cars are piling up behind you and they are getting impatient. Won’t you be more prone to making mistakes, possibly mistakes which could seriously endanger someone’s life?
What about safe driving? HowStuffWorks have a useful article about it. I know it sounds silly and obvious, but do we really know how to drive well? Or are we merely good enough? Good enough to get the car moving from point A to B as long as I don’t have to stop at an incline, parallel park, reverse park, etc. …
I think the fact that car manufacturers are adding more and more features to cars is telling of the general situation we are in. One instance which comes to mind is Honda’s Sensing Suite. I understand the need for the Collision Mitigation Braking System (it warns and applies brake to the vehicle when a sudden obstacle appears). But Road Departure Mitigation System? Shouldn’t everybody be actively doing that anyway?
I understand that this is done for the sake of improving safety (and I welcome such technologies, truly). All I’m saying is that it does not excuse the driver from keeping his eyes on the road and being aware of his surrounding. The responsibility is on the driver, not the car.
Two: Know Your Bad Habits
Most of us who have been driving for years have picked up bad habits along the way. Best case scenario: these habits are a nuisance to others. Worst case: it’s life threatening. It’s important for us to be aware of our bad driving habits and attempt to correct it.
I’ve been driving for about 10 years now and I’m currently working on correcting the following bad habits:
- Assuming I have the right-of-way when I’m on the main road, or when I’ve indicated before making a turn.
- Tailgating in traffic and not yielding right-of-way (especially to pesky motorcyclist who swerve in and out of traffic).
- Speeding up at intersections when the traffic light turns yellow.
These habits, if uncorrected, may one day cause a crash. I’ve been driving without untoward incidents over the past decade, but I am not about to push my luck.
Three: Know Your Car
Familiarize yourself with the car manual. Seriously. Don’t just rely on cursory information given to you by a car salesman. In reading the car manual, you will learn about functions which you normally would not have known even from a trained salesman.
In the Revisionist History episode above, there was a tragic case mentioned about a Lexus which supposedly went rogue. The car seemed to accelerate on its own and the brakes seemed to not work. I’m not sure if the driver attempted to shut off the car engine. But if he had read the car manual, he would have come across the instruction on how to switch off the engine while the car is in motion (which was to hold the “Start/Stop” button for 3 seconds).
Would he have survived? It’s hard to tell. But at least it would have stopped the engine and prevented the car from further acceleration. However, when we are panicking in a perceived emergency, how would we react? This brings me to the next point.
During the decision-making process, your mind will most likely move through three stages: denial, deliberation and decisive action.
Four: Know Your Emergency Plan
This is something which I think most of us neglect. We probably think that accidents or bad incidents will not happen to us. That’s optimism bias. Regardless of how safely we drive, we should anticipate untoward incidents and rehearse dealing with them.
Rehearsing such situations will prepare you for the situation. When we are in an emergency, we are not in a position to make decisions quickly (denial, deliberation…). However, when we have a plan worked out in our mind prior to the incident, we can just carry out the plan as rehearsed. I found the tips offered in this article helpful.
It’s you, not the car
Malcolm Gladwell brought two facts to my attention: that modern cars are very reliable machines and most road crashes are due to human errors. In the end, cars are like computers. Garbage in, garbage out. You can only blame the car so much if you didn’t have good driving skills to begin with.
As tech behemoths like Google and Tesla invest great deal of money on developing autonomous vehicle and related technologies, it’s probably just a matter of time before a perfect, self-driving car is a reality. But until then, just remember that you are supposed to be doing the driving.
Creative Lead by day, writer by night, husband and dad throughout. I write about things that interest me and lessons I’ve learnt. My views are my own. Check out other things I’ve written.
