sudden acceleration

In Journalism, Scaremongering Pays — Or, Is Ethical Journalism an Oxymoron?

by Hans Bader on June 17, 2011 · 1 comment

in Legal, Mobility, Precaution & Risk, Regulation, Sanctimony

As legal commentator Ted Frank notes, ABC was rewarded for deliberate scaremongering and deceptive reporting that created needless fear and anxiety among Toyota owners with a coveted journalism award: “Brian Ross of ABC News repeatedly used footage of Sean Kane criticizing Toyota over sudden acceleration without telling viewers that Kane was being paid by plaintiffs’ attorneys pushing bogus product liability claims; he also faked footage of a tachometer speeding out of control to push the “deadly Toyota” meme. All of these scare tactics and hysteria turned out to be utterly false, and refuted by a NASA/NHTSA report finding nothing wrong with the electronics in the automobile. Ross and ABC News haven’t retracted their scare-tactic stories or even apologized, much less slunk off in disgrace. Rather, ABC News submitted Ross’s quack reports for an Edward R. Murrow Award — and got the award, doubling the scandal.”

At Gawker, John Cook calls Ross “America’s Wrongest Reporter” for “his coverage of the Toyota unintended acceleration story,” which had the effect of needlessly “Fostering Global Panic Based on” falsehoods:

“Ross, you will recall, was one of the driving forces behind the Runaway Toyota Panic of ’10, which was later determined by NASA and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to have been largely the result of idiots stepping on the accelerator when they intended to step on the brake, and of other idiots talking about it on TV. Ross was one of those idiots. For some reason, ABC News submitted four of Ross’ Toyota reports to the Radio Television Digital News Association for award consideration.  One report they didn’t submit was the one where Gawker caught Ross staging footage to make it seem like a Toyota was accelerating out of control when it was in fact parked with the emergency brake on, doors open, and someone stepping on the gas … In two of the winning reports, Ross quoted safety expert Sean Kane criticizing Toyota and insisting that there were cases of unintended acceleration that “couldn’t be explained by floormats,” which Toyota had recalled in 2009 after some mats became stuck under gas pedals. What he didn’t report was that Kane was being paid by plaintiff’s attorneys who were suing Toyota over unintended acceleration cases, and so had a financial incentive to argue that there was more to the Runaway Toyota scare than just floormats … [Kane's] position—that electronics were involved—was later eviscerated by the NASA/NHTSA report, which found “no electronic flaws in Toyota vehicles capable of producing the large throttle openings required to create dangerous high-speed unintended acceleration incidents.”

As Gawker notes, Ross has a “documented history of shamelessly hyping cooked stories” stretching back to “the 2001 anthrax attacks.”

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Toyota “sudden acceleration deaths” suddenly accelerate

by Michael Fumento on February 16, 2010 · 2 comments

in Precaution & Risk

Predictably, in the wake of the media blitz about the alleged dangers of Toyotas suddenly accelerating, reports of fatalities linked (note: not “caused by”) such incidents has shot up.

In December the figure stood at 19, and then in January bumped up to 21. Since January 27th, when Toyota ordered a widespread recall, 13 more fatalities have been reported to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Somehow people’s memories have suddenly become a lot sharper, haven’t they?

Fortunately, the media seem wise to this. For example, today’s LA Times reports its own analysis “shows that all but one of the deaths reported to NHTSA by motorists in 2010 actually occurred in prior years – as far back as 1992 – suggesting that recent public attention to the issue spurred people to file complaints regarding past incidents. Most of the incidents occurred between 2003 and 2009.”

This is typical behavior in the light of something suddenly being seen as dangerous. If the media declare a drug is being investigated, suddenly people come out of the woodwork to make claims against the drug. I described that in an article about the alleged link between the acne medicine Accutane and suicide, in quoting an FDA spokeswoman saying, “When there’s public awareness or publicity about a drug for any reason, there may be an increase in reports because people may not have otherwise thought about associations.”

And it’s understandable human behavior that I think is usually innocent.

Usually.

But one can’t help but notice that when you google “Toyota deaths” the top link goes to one law firm soliciting Toyota accident clients while the sponsored link on the right takes you to another law firm. (The inset shows part of an advertisement from one of those firms.)

Come to think of it, people trying to get easy money is also understandable human behavior.

Toyota Recalls Put into Context by Edmunds.com

by Michael Fumento on February 11, 2010

in Nanny State, Precaution & Risk, Sanctimony

Edmunds.com, the premier online resource for automotive information, has obtained and reviewed the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) complaint database. A key finding: Toyota was the subject of 9.1 percent of the complaints from 2001 through 2010 (through February 3), even while selling 13.5 percent of all new cars in the U.S. This puts it third in sales, but 17th in complaints.

And not incidentally, Toyota came out far and away the top quality auto maker according to Consumer Reports’ 2010 Car Brand Perception Survey handily beating Number Two Ford. (See inset.)

Something to think about as hysteria hits fever pitch.

Toyota’s Troubles

by Michael Fumento on February 4, 2010 · 1 comment

in Odds & Ends

While driving with my future wife along California’s scenic but treacherous Pacific Coast Highway in 1991, my brand new Toyota suddenly fishtailed and dove straight off a cliff. That’s the “after” picture you see.

I was uninjured, but my wife suffered both a broken neck and crushed skull. I was told I would probably lose her, but she had a miraculous recovery and today only suffers epilepsy. A week after the accident I read Toyota was replacing the model at half year because, according to one car magazine, driving experts said it suffered from sudden “terminal” oversteering.

So you may think I assume that Toyota is guilty not only of having faulty accelerators but of covering up the fact for two years. But you’d assume wrong. They may well prove guilty of both charges, but we need to keep in mind that the allegations are all based on driver reports. Some of these are clearly going to be related to news events. And some will be opportunistic.

Yesterday a letter to the editor of the Washington Post began, “Toyota, I’m mad as hell! I blame you – not only for a faulty product but for the cover-up: a slow, secretive roll-out revealing too little, way too late.” It continues, “In September, driving a 2009 Camry on a clear day, I had a terrible accident. Despite strenuous braking efforts, I was unable to decelerate. I hit two other cars and rolled and destroyed my car. I was seriously injured. The cause, however, appeared not to be a faulty floor mat-the only responsibility Toyota acknowledged at that time.”

He then relates that he replaced the car with a 2010 Camry and “the gas pedal on that car stuck and the car uncontrollably gained speed.”

The second incident seems to match the general accusations against Toyota, but the first and truly serious one does not. Braking is an entirely different system from acceleration. Uncontrolled acceleration or lack of de-acceleration would not override slamming the brakes.

This is sheer opportunism and you will see it across North America and probably the world, regardless of whether there’s a real problem with Toyotas or not. And we’re talking about the world’s largest automaker. I’ll have more to say on this in an upcoming article, but this is going to be bad.