Confessions of a Driving Instructor

Toyota and Lexus floor mat recall and warning from NHTSA

via www.examiner.com

The Examiner.com has published an article about Toyota's recall of some vehicles due to an issue with the floor mat.

The recall was precipitated by the tragic death of a California Highway patrol officer and his family. Now the NHTSA and Toyota are doing everything they can to prevent further deaths or injuries related to the floor mat. Apparently, the design of the floor mat and the accelerator may result in the accelerator sticking in the fully open position. This would cause rapid acceleration and the possibility of a high speed collision.

Affected vehicles include the following Toyota and Lexus models:

2007-2010 Camry
2005-2010 Avalon
2004-2009 Prius
2005-2010 Tacoma
2007-2010 Tundra
2007-2010 ES 350
2006-2010 IS 250 and IS350

If you own or drive one of these vehicles, first remove the driver-side floor mat, then contact your local Toyota or Lexus dealer.  

As a matter of fact, this is such a simple correction to such a serious problem, that you should get up from your computer now and go remove the floor mat from the driver's side and throw it in your trunk for the time being.

Do you know what to do if your accelerator sticks?  

The first response is to stomp the accelerator one time to see if it resumes normal operation.  If the driver can not "unstick" the accelerator, the next step is to put the transmission in neutral and get off the road as safely as possible.  Once off the road, it is crucial for the driver to turn off the engine as quickly as possible to minimize damage caused by excessive RPMs.

In this case, the driver may have noticed that the pedal was stuck behind the floor mat.  While the natural response may be to try to move the floor mat, this is not the safest response.  Moving the floor mat requires the driver to take his attention from the road while the vehicle continues to increase in speed--a recipe for disaster.

Shot heard round the world

A funny thing happened last week on a driving test.  The test was not all that remarkable.  The gentleman was an experienced driver who needed to re-test for his license.  He had developed a habit of bad hand placement, but otherwise he was a good driver.

We stopped at one intersection waiting for traffic to clear so we could make a right turn.  Suddenly, I heard a noise like a dull pop.  The driver passed gas.

Flatulence, in and of itself, is not remarkable.  This instance was funny, though, because the car alarm of a nearby parked began to sound right after the gaseous expulsion.  Even funnier was the look on the guys face that said, "did I do that?"

Does Your Rental Car Have Side Airbags? - Most Popular News Story - WCVB Boston

BOSTON -- General Motors sells tens of thousands of cars annually to many big rental car companies.Rental Cars Bought, Resold Without Standard Safety FeatureTeam 5 Investigates discovered GM allowed these fleet buyers to save money by eliminating an otherwise-standard safety feature: side airbags."We see different things removed from cars for fleet buyers, but this is a new level," said Sean Kane, an auto safety expert. "We've never seen a standard safety feature removed as a delete option for a fleet. That is unheard of, and it's something that should never have happened."Specifically at issue: 2006-2008 Chevy Impalas and 2008-2009 Chevy Cobalt and Buick LaCrosse models. GM listed side airbags as standard equipment, but Team 5 Investigates discovered, GM gave rental car companies an option to buy cars without side airbags, and many did.Kane said it saved companies about $175 per vehicle."To remove a standard safety feature for such a nominal savings is unheard of," Kane said. "This is a new level -- a new low, really -- for General Motors."And it's not just with rental cars. Team 5 Investigates discovered some of those cars were then sold to private citizens as used without disclosing the side airbags were missing.

via www.thebostonchannel.com

Some cost saving measures are just too costly. Side curtain airbags are tremendously important since they can prevent severe head injuries in side impact collisions. We need MORE cars with side airbags, not fewer.

For all the damage the Governments "Cash for Clunkers" initiative may have caused our auto industry, one positive side benefit is the mass removal of older cars that do not have side impact protection (SIPS). We usually expect new safety techonologies to become mainstream in 11 to 15 years, but cash for clunkers may have accelerated the process a few years by taking so many older cars off the road. For Government General Motors to have taken SIPS out of fleet vehicles is reprehensible and inexcusable.  In all fairness, no evidence suggests that GM had been taken over by the goverment when these modifications were made.

Cell phones as dangerous as drunk driving | News Blog - CNET News

Is having a cell phone pressed to your ear while behind the wheel the equivalent of driving while intoxicated? According to a study by University of Utah psychologists, the answer is, unfortunately, yes.

via news.cnet.com

The reviews are in and they don't look good for people drive and talk on their cell phones. Cell phone use is as incompatible with driving as is drinking alcohol. Another quote from the article says, "Researchers found that the drivers on cell phones drove more slowly, braked more slowly and were more likely to crash. In fact, the three participants who collided into the pace car were chatting away. None of the drunken drivers crashed."

Please pass this on to your friends and family. You could save a life.

Air bags spontaneously deploy; Honda blames drivers

"DENVER - Airbags in some newer model Hondas have deployed without warning when drivers shut their car doors, were waiting at stoplights and even driving down highways, a 9Wants to Know investigation has learned." Click here for the full article.

via www.9news.com

Airbags are not supposed to deploy by themselves. Frontal airbags are supposed to deploy only in the event of a frontal collision with a force of impact equivalent to a collision at 35 mph. In the above story, a driver's airbags deployed while he waited at a red light. Honda claims that the airbag deployed because he hit a curb, but his insurance company could not find any signs of impact.

Chances are, your airbags will not spontaneously deploy, but if you own a late model Honda, keep an eye out for recall notices. A spontaneous airbag deployment will certainly frighten passengers and may even cause injury.

You can reduce your risk of an airbag related injury by:
* steering with your hands to the sides of the steering wheel--do not cross your arms over the center of the wheel
* front passengers should not place objects on top of the dashboard. Additionally, passengers should not rest their head, arms, or feet on the front passenger dashboard.
* If your airbags spontaneously deploy, do not shut off your car. Many cars are programmed to disable the starter if the airbags deploy.
* If you are hit by the deploying airbag, call for emergency assistance and get checked by a doctor.

NYTimes.com: Safety Group Seeks Ban on Texting While Driving

Studies show that drivers who send text messages can travel more than 100 yards without looking at the road.

via www.nytimes.com

Many states already have a ban on using "portable electronic devices" while driving. States that don't have a generic ban will need to add language to the law that bans specific practices.

Parents and driving instructors both must impress on new drivers the importance of driving without distractions. Not only must we teach about distracted driving in the driving schools, but parents must make the effort to set a good example. When teens see their parent's driving while talking on the phone, checking make-up, or reading, they are given the impression that driving is a task that may be accomplished while doing something else. Laws can help, but parents are the first line of defense.