1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

US may require accelerator override in new cars

Discussion in 'Other Cars' started by cwerdna, Mar 3, 2010.

  1. cwerdna

    cwerdna Senior Member

    Joined:
    Sep 4, 2005
    12,544
    2,123
    1
    Location:
    SF Bay Area, CA
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    US may require accelerator override in new cars - Yahoo! Finance

    Since I didn't watch the hearings, I didn't know about this:
    One things that I'm not sure everyone has thought about is that depending on implementation, smart throttles could themselves create safety hazards. It's just another point of possible failure.

    Imagine if there's a fault in the braking system or with the brake switch so the car incorrectly thinks brakes are being applied. That could cause you to be unable to accelerate out of a danger situation or cause you to lose power at a bad time, like on a highway.

    IIRC, I remember reading about some proposed implementations where the override only goes into effect above a certain speed, say 19 mph. I wonder what currently implemented smart throttles for various automakers do...
     
    #1 cwerdna, Mar 3, 2010
  2. seftonm

    seftonm Member

    Joined:
    Apr 7, 2006
    408
    78
    2
    Location:
    Winnipeg, MB
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    With VW, it seems to be that the pedal pressed second wins. So brake can override a stuck throttle, but throttle can also override a stuck brake switch.
     
    #2 seftonm, Mar 3, 2010
(You must log in or sign up to post here.)