Toyota, the world’s largest automaker is currently engaged in one of the world’s largest vehicle recalls which some analysts reckon will cost it far more than the $2 billion it announced Wednesday.
Not only are there faults with accelerators on a range of different models but serious problems have been discovered with the brakes on its hybrid Prius car. It seems in excess of 1.8 million Toyotas could be involved. Peugeot-Citroen which installs the same accelerator component is also facing a recall of some 100,000 vehicles.
The faults have been blamed for at least a dozen fatal accidents in the States, when vehicles continued to accelerate after drivers took their feet off the gas. Extremely expensive lawsuits undoubtedly lie ahead for the beleaguered Japanese automaker, whose products over the years have become a byword for quality and reliability.
Maybe, however, the shock and scandal that has arisen this week over these defective vehicles should give pause for thought. As many motorists over 50 will attest, there was a time when motorcars leaving the manufacturers were frequently defective, either because of a design fault or shoddy workmanship.
In 1965 Ralph Nader, a future US presidential candidate, produced the book “Unsafe at Any Speed” which catalogued the alarming dangers in the design, layout and materials of the vast majority of automobiles on American roads. Nader’s dogged consumer campaigning over the years saw Congress force manufacturers to build safer and more reliable cars.
Perversely, however, in solving one serious set of problems, Nader and his followers unwittingly created another no less serious danger. It was this. In the days when drivers expected their cars to not brake or corner very well, when they knew that if they traveled at high speed for too long, the radiator would boil and if they drove too fast over rough surfaces the fillings would fall out of their teeth ... in those days, people simply drove more carefully. In taking account of the known limitations of their vehicles, they were both more alert and more cautious.
Despite Toyota’s present troubles, the modern motorcar has very few limitations. It is fast, well equipped and comfortable and can be driven with the minimum of effort. Those on board can relax in an environment where road noise is unlikely to be heard above the gentle hum of the air-conditioning.
And therein lies the problem that Nader created. Drivers no longer travel with any anxiety. They are confident that even if they have a wreck, the airbags and crumple areas will fully protect them. How else could they feel as they ride a comfortable armchair that travels so effortlessly at such high speed? As we know to our cost here in the Kingdom, this confidence is grievously misplaced. All over the world drivers are speeding toward disaster, because cars have been made too reliable and too apparently safe.
