Return of the Son of Unintended Acceleration

Don't look now, but jittery drivers and their lawyers are revisiting the old unintended acceleration meme, this time with a suspicious eye cast on computerized throttle controls. Once again Audi is in the mix, although Lexus is now a target too.

I'm not certain, but I think scary, evil robots will ultimately be found to be at fault. Good luck collecting from them.

Comments

[Warren]

ooooooooooooooo Asimov! Bring it on!

[MALAK]

What? There hasn't been a frivolous class action filed this week? Or are we below our monthly quota? Shakespeare was/is right.

[Mr. Nice Guy]

We can't possibly blame individuals for their behavior. It's those evil Detroit machines created by heartless corporations. Remember the movie Christine? Someone should sue Steven King.

[Mo]

russ,
Unless, taking a cue from Isaac Asimov, we make it so that these computers'/robots' testimony is inadmissable in court. Aha!

[speedy]

Can't drive 55!

[Andy]

More crap drivers smacking into other people and denying any responsibility.

"It wasn't me, it was this 'impossible to verify but it worked in court before' automatic throttle system"

[David]

Please don't say "meme" again.

[ButIt'sMyOnlyLine]

Because my car only goes 38.

[heh2k]

regarding stuck throttles in the cold, that's from having a dirty throttle body. i doubt it's a bug. i wonder how many of these are due to idiots confusing the brake and the throttle. back in the day, jeep redesigned their pedals, due to unintended accel from drivers hitting the wrong pedal.

[joe]

Does "throttle" mean "gas" or "clutch?"

I've only ever heard the term applied to lawnmowers.

[JAT]

Anti-meme meme. Check.

[Douglas Fletcher]

The throttle is part of the engine. I had an old Volvo once that had a manual throttle control, which you pushed in or out according to how revved up you wanted the engine to run (independent of the gas pedal). Kind of strange to drive, sometimes it shook like an old airplane.

[Douglas Fletcher]

Auntie Mame?

[jonsiegs]

http://www.familycar.com/engine.htm

[David]

I can't get that "anti-meme meme" joke out of my head. I must have told it to five or six people today.

[tchiers]

joe,

throttle = "gas"

The throttle body regualtes how much air is let into the engine. The computer then decides how much gas to add to the mix, based on a varitey of factors.

[russ]

Most new vehicles are now manufactured with inboard diagnostics which can "testify' in court as to what happed in the last 20 seconds or so, just like an airplane's black box. I guess the defense will be "windows sucks".