Toyota’s Countermeasure Towards Pedal Misapplication

Do you have a thrilling clip when driving? Misusing the pedal and causing the accidental acceleration; In case of emergency,  your foot accidentally pressed the throttle and not the break.

Such incidents could lead to accidents, losses, and sometimes even injuries to relevant personnel. It’s a headache in any countries.

According to reports from overseas media, on July 5, Japan's Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism Ministry asked Toyota and seven other major automakers to make a solution for accidents caused by misapplication of the accelerator. 

In the light of the local police data, 149 fatal accidents have occurred from January to June 2019, involving drivers that are 75 years old and above. 11 percent of these deadly accidents are believed to have been caused by pedal misapplication.

To prevent this, Toyota will deploy an upgraded version of safety feature named "Toyota Safety System 2.0" in 2020 to further improve the anti-collision performance and driver assistance.

Concerning about the misapplication of pedals, Toyota plans to introduce a new feature, which is capable to detect pedestrians.

Honda previously also announced its decision to install a feature to shun misuse of pedals on future models, and the device will join in Honda Sensing Safety suite. While the detection  will focus on objects.

Here at Toyota, if the driver mistakenly stepped on the accelerator instead of the brake, and someone or a bicycle is detected ahead, the car would not move and engine power would be suppressed. The engine power will also be suppressed when the system detect the driver slamming the pedal.

Racing gangs may disappoint. But car manufacturers must stop pandering to the boy racers 'fantasies about power and speed. Toyota considers more on pedestrians and bicycles.

The Japan News uncovers some tantalizing information that Toyota aims to add the new feature to new cars by the end of the year, starting with the Prius. The company also wants to allow retrofitting to older cars for a price at around ¥50,000 (around $470) or less.