I love my computer dearly, but I wouldn’t trust it with my life unless I had no choice. Unfortunately that’s not an option in modern cars. The manufacturers are replacing the old-fashioned brakes and accelerators with electronically controlled versions, which made us very nervous when we first heard of it. Apparently the technology was first developed by airplane engineers to improve reliability and lessen the weight of the vehicle, thus improving fuel efficiency.
My husband and I aren’t surprised that these electronic controls may be causing some of the recent Toyota fatalities. Given our experience with computers and electronic devices like DVD recorders, we’re more surprised there haven’t been more life-threatening glitches.
What do you think?
I wouldn’t have a problem with computers associated with the safety of vehicles — if there were redundant circuits and fault annunciation and identification if one of the circuits were to fail.
However, the response of these electronic systems are different than the purely mechanical systems of the past. The accelerator on my truck has a noticeable delay when I “floor it” and the response of the brakes when I tried stopping on ice was like nothing I’d ever experienced before. The anti-lock brake system worked just fine, but it was like the brake pedal was kicking back at me.
When it comes to safety, though, these systems should work properly through even the worst abuse that consumers can put their vehicles through. Unfortunately, though, vehicle manufacturers have to balance cost against acceptable risk… and sometimes they get it wrong.
.-= Mike Goad´s last blog ..Climate science woes in Newsweek =-.
Mike,
There is redundancy and presumably most vehicles are safe. I have read that most manufacturers have the brake override the accelerator but Toyota didn’t. Toyota’s big problem is they sacrificed their emphasis on quality, their biggest selling point and one reason they had such loyal customers, to push for market share. Their engineers were spread too thinly. It will be interesting to see if they can recover. I sure hope so. At least their crisis has been a warning to all car manufacturers.
I agree with you that the new cars respond differently than the old ones and it can be unnerving at first.
I guess we’d need to compare accident rates – but for that we’d need the same car with and without computers: and the car companies aren’t likely to invest in this kind of research.
.-= Evan´s last blog ..Personal Development for Smart People =-.
Evan and Mike,
Mechanical systems aren’t fail-safe either. My husband just came home and said the brakes went out on our 1993 Chevy truck while he was snow plowing up in the mountains. It wasn’t dangerous because he was in 4-wheel drive low range, but it will be an expensive tow job. Also apparently the new Automatic Braking Systems are often safer than the old systems.
A recent Wall Street Journal article, Can Drivers Handle High-Tech Cars? says Toyota is going to redesign its systems so the brakes have precedence over the accelerator. The article mentions that the new keyless ignition systems in some cars mean drivers have to push and hold a button on the dashboard to shut off a car, which is not how drivers have been programmed to do it. That might have caused some of the Toyota fatalities. Again, the crisis is raising people’s consciousness of these issues.
Hi Jean! Safety doesn’t appear to be a concern of big business as long as they make money and can get away with b.s. to the people. That is, until people die. Making a nation SICK doesn’t faze Monsanto – they continue to poison our food supply and lie about their safety tests. At least Toyota is taking the financial hit and making good on their errors. But people had to die for this to happen apparently. Sick would not have done the job.
I watched an interview of Ray LaHood (Secy of Transportation) who said “We are holding Toyota’s feet to the fire! We will not sleep until all these cars are fixed and safe to drive.” That’s admirable but where is this same concern/passion from our U.S.D.A. and FDA regarding our food supply? Europe has banned GM crops/seeds and Canada refuses to inject their cows with bovine growth hormone and antibiotics. They reject due to their independent safety tests. When is somebody going to hold Monsanto’s feet to the fire in THIS country?
(I will admit to a rant on this Jean. 🙂 I’m passionate about food safety and the U.S. being used as guinea pigs. Time to start connecting the dots to our rise in disease and illnesses to the crap they are putting in our food!)
Almost all the modern airplanes, massive big ships and space shuttles work on computerized systems. Simple things like floor mats being tampered with can cause some of the problems that people have been having in the recent past.
.-= Rummuser´s last blog ..Hospitality In The USA And India =-.
Jean, coming from the land of finest car engineering I put my trust on the manufacturers’ pedal, revv up and set off into the sunset, hoping the brakes won’t fail me. Admittedly, I myself do drive a French car (Citroen without airbags – who wants to be suffocated mid collusion?)
I am not familiar with the Toyota story. However, I dare say there is no more sure fire way of losing sales as killing the customer.
Am rather intrigued by suzen’s sudden left turn to the subject of food safety. I don’t want to dine out on the FDA and its reputation; and if you really want to frighten yourself you might wish to read Eric Schlosser’s “Fast Food Nation”.
U
suzen,
We ‘re interested in safe, nutritious food too. We support the Center for Science in the Public Interest. It’s a watchdog and consumer advocate group. Have you heard of it?
Rummuser,
Mistakes are going to happen. The best we can do is try to be alert and catch them as soon as possible. In the case of Toyota the floor mats hadn’t been tampered with, the ones that came with the cars caused some, but not all, of the problems.
Ursula,
I think it wasn’t just the fatalities that upset people so much, it was Toyota denying the problems and not answering phone calls. It’s well-known that doctors who have good rapport, show they care about their patients, tend not to get sued for malpractice when mistakes happen.
Hi Jean – Yes, I’m a member of CSPI as well as the Institute for Responsible Technology. I don’t trust the very gov’t. agencies that are supposed to protect us and I sure don’t trust big business – esp. the food industry giants.
.-= suzen´s last blog ..Looking At My Desk =-.
suzen,
As I’ve mentioned before, one of my husband’s and my favorite sayings is, “Not paranoid enough!” So we’re not about to argue with you. 🙂
Cathy,
I knew you don’t own a car. They are definitely mixed blessings, but fairly necessary where we live. I drive as little as possible.
i can’t comment – I do not own a car!
.-= Cathy in NZ´s last blog ..dyepots, rain & students +++ =-.