Marietta Injury Lawyer Blog

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and other organizations have been compiling Toyota unintended acceleration data for years. The following is the most up to date data I could find of reported Toyota incidents from 1999 to present:

Total Incidents - 2262
Crashes - 815
Injuries - 341
Deaths - 19

As a Georgia Product Liability Lawyer, I've been extremely interested in the massive Toyota recalls due to runaway vehicles. As the owner of a Toyota and a father of two, I've been more concerned with what I should do if I experience unintended acceleration. Consumer Reports Magazine and Toyota have recommended the following strategy if your vehicle experiences sudden acceleration:

1) Push the brakes hard and hold
2) Do not pump brakes
3) After hitting the brakes, shift the vehicle in neutral
4) If you can't get the vehicle in neutral, turn the vehicle off
5) If you turn the vehicle off, leave the key in the ignition
6) Pull safely off the road
7) Turn off the car and park.

ABC news reports that Toyota has just announced a recall of an additional 2.3 million vehicles to correct sticking acceleration pedals. This announcement follows the already massive recall launched this past fall involving 4.2 million cars. Numerous deaths and injuries have been reported as a result of Toyota vehicles unexpectedly accelerating. Initially, Toyota claimed the acceleration problem was the result of defective floor mats. Toyota is now acknowledging the problem is not limited to floor mats. The newest Toyota recall is confined to the following vehicles:

• 2009-2010 RAV4,
• 2009-2010 Corolla,
• 2009-2010 Matrix,
• 2005-2010 Avalon,
• 2007-2010 Camry,
• 2010 Highlander,
• 2007-2010 Tundra,
• 2008-2010 Sequoia

Following the first recall, many drivers insisted floor mats were not the cause of their acceleration issues. For the longest time it appeared Toyota did not want to acknowledge the acceleration problem could be bigger than floor mats. Even with this new recall, many are skeptical fixing acceleration pedals will solve the problem. As a Georgia Product Liability lawyer I've reviewed some of the first hand accounts of runaway Toyota vehicles and many are certain the gas pedal was never stuck during their incident. Hopefully, with all the evidence piling up at their feet, Toyota will take the necessary steps to fix this deadly problem.