AP IMPACT: Toyota secretive on 'black box' data (could explain crashes blamed on sudden acceleration [View All]

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

By CURT ANDERSON and DANNY ROBBINS

SOUTHLAKE, Texas (AP) - Toyota has for years blocked access to data stored in devices similar to airline "black boxes" that could explain crashes blamed on sudden unintended acceleration, according to an Associated Press review of lawsuits nationwide and interviews with auto crash experts.

The AP investigation found that Toyota has been inconsistent - and sometimes even contradictory - in revealing exactly what the devices record and don't record, including critical data about whether the brake or accelerator pedals were depressed at the time of a crash.

By contrast, most other automakers routinely allow much more open access to information from their event data recorders, commonly known as EDRs.

AP also found that Toyota:

- Has frequently refused to provide key information sought by crash victims and survivors.

- Uses proprietary software in its EDRs. Until this week, there was only a single laptop in the U.S. containing the software needed to read the data following a crash.

- In some lawsuits, when pressed to provide recorder information Toyota either settled or provided printouts with the key columns blank.


Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20100305/D9E864VO1.html

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