Unintended Acceleration in Passenger Vehicles (CRS Report for Congress)
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| Release Date |
Revised July 29, 2010 |
| Report Number |
R41205 |
| Report Type |
Report |
| Authors |
Suzanne M. Kirchhoff, Analyst in Industrial Organization and Business; David Randall Peterman, Analyst in Transportation Policy |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
| Older Revisions |
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Summary:
Congress is considering legislation to strengthen federal regulation of auto safety, in response tohundreds of reported accidents, and more than 50 fatalities, that may be linked to suddenacceleration in certain makes of Toyota and Lexus vehicles. Toyota, under pressure from theNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), has recalled more than 6 millionautos in the United States, and for a time stopped production of certain new-model vehicles in aneffort to address the problems-one of the largest such efforts in recent history. But lawmakersand consumer advocates say federal oversight has been inadequate, given that NHTSA beganinvestigating reports of sudden acceleration in certain Toyotas in 2002. Internal corporatedocuments indicate that Toyota was slow to address other vehicle quality concerns. NHTSA inApril 2010 fined Toyota $16.375 million, the maximum allowed by law, for failing to quicklynotify the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) of an accelerator pedal defect in some cars.
