Acceleration Danger Déjà Vu

It's another day, another Toyota recall! Getting a bit repetitive? Once again it seems the problem is that accelerator pedals are getting stuck under the floor mat which has the potential for causing some serious car accidents. The affected vehicles are several years of Highlander, GS, RX, 4Runner, Lexus LX 570 and RAV4 models which work out to about 2.17 million cars and trucks in total. Most likely this news will inspire a collective rolling of eyes across North Texas, particularly following the conclusion of the safety investigation which was announced last week. I'll do you a favor and save you a repeat of my ranting on the subject.

Safety in cars is crucial, and a recent survey shows that 64% of people think safety is the most important thing to consider when purchasing a new vehicle. Most of us think about safety in terms of how well the car or truck would absorb an impact in the event of a traffic collision, or how effective the breaks are, but equally important is whether there are any defects which can themselves put the driver and their passengers' lives in danger. Toyota used to have a reputation as building safe family cars, but lately they have been shooting themselves in the foot repeatedly. They need to slow down and make sure their cars really are entirely safe before they roll them out to the dealerships. The Transportation Department (along with any other government bodies responsible for approving vehicles which are released to our roadways) need to seriously step up their act too.

Mark Anderson has been practicing auto wreck injury law in the Dallas-Fort Worth region since 1991 and is board certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. For a free consultation on your traffic wreck case, call on 214-327-8000 or 817-294-1900.