Shhhh, don't tell Congress -- pressing the accelerator will cause sudden acceleration

Holman W. Jenkins, Jr., shares his insight into the Toyota sudden acceleration trauma in an article in today's Wall Street Journal titled Trial Lawyers vs. Toyota -- Job One: Never mention driver error (subscription) .

The plaintiffs' bar smells blood. The spectacle of a deep pocketed corporate defendant paraded before a Congressional committee intent on proving cruel, heartless behavior must have the lawyers salivating.

But Mr. Jenkins summons the dog that didn't bark. Something was missing from the testimony, and that was any suggestion that the drivers themselves may have unintentionally mashed too hard on the gas pedal or maybe hit the accelerator instead of the brake.

I'm inclined to think that is a distinct possibility in the incidents of sudden acceleration. Because it happened to me. The car took off on its own and slammed into a barricade. No one was hurt, however the witnesses were horrified. It wasn't a real car, though. It happened at Disneyland years ago at a ride involving pint sized cars propelled by go cart motors. I had never piloted a four wheel vehicle before, so it was a foreign experience to me. But it was long after the adults quit yelling that I finally admitted to myself that I had actually done what they said I did, and that was press on the gas pedal and not the brake. Denial is a river in the mind, and it will run as long as there's a reason.

So don't expect anyone to admit that they stood on the gas instead of the brake. But hopefully juries will acknowledge that possibility as the plaintiffs proclaim their complete lack of any responsibility for what that mysterious magic box did to their cars.

Comments

[Les]

"summons the dog that didn't bark."

What a great expression! From Shelock Holmes, right?

[Geo]

Thanks, Les. I can't tell whether or not you are being sarcastic, but I'll take it in either case.