Take note of ur forte floor mat...

came across this article, sometime, when panic, one may forget the very basic rules of driving...


WASHINGTON, US - The 911 call was from a frantic passenger,
trapped with family members in a runaway vehicle barreling down a
California highway with a stuck accelerator and no brakes.


The call ended with someone telling people in the car to hold on and pray, followed by a woman's scream.

The
high-speed crash near San Diego in August, involving an out-of-control
Lexus ES 350 that killed four members of a family, led Toyota Motor
Corp. on Tuesday to issue its largest-ever US recall, involving 3.8
million vehicles.


The recall is intended to address problems with a removable floor
mat that could cause accelerators to get stuck and lead to a crash.

Toyota and the government warned owners Tuesday to remove the mats
from their vehicles until the Japanese automaker could find a way to
fix the potential safety hazard. The recall will involve popular models
such as the Toyota Camry, the top-selling passenger car in America, and
the Toyota Prius, the best-selling gas-electric hybrid.


Toyota said it was still working with officials with the National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration to find a remedy and said owners
could be notified about the recall as early as next week. Toyota
spokesman Irv Miller said until the company finds a fix, owners should
simply take out the removable floor mat on the driver's side and not
replace it.


"A stuck open accelerator pedal may result in very high vehicle
speeds and make it difficult to stop a vehicle, which could cause a
crash, serious injury or death," Miller said.


The recall will affect 2007-10 model year Toyota Camry, 2005-10
Toyota Avalon, 2004-09 Toyota Prius, 2005-10 Toyota Tacoma, 2007-10
Toyota Tundra, 2007-10 Lexus ES 350 and 2006-10 Lexus IS 250 and IS 350
vehicles.

Toyota's previously largest U.S. recall was about 900,000 vehicles
in 2005 to fix a steering issue. The company declined to say how many
complaints it had received about the accelerator issue.


NHTSA said it had received reports of 102 incidents in which the
accelerator may have become stuck on the Toyota vehicles involved. It
was unclear how many led to crashes.


"This is an urgent matter," Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said
in a statement. "For everyone's sake, we strongly urge owners of these
vehicles to remove mats or other obstacles that could lead to
unintended acceleration."


Toyota warned owners that if they think their vehicle is
accelerating out of control, they should check to see whether their
floor mat is under the pedal. If a driver can't remove the floor mat,
Toyota advises drivers to step on the brake pedal with both feet until
the vehicle slows and then try to put it into neutral and switch the
ignition to accessory power.


For vehicles with engine start/stop buttons, Toyota said the engine
can be shut off by holding the button down for three seconds.

In the August incident in Santee, Calif., the fiery crash of the
Lexus killed California Highway Patrol Officer Mark Saylor, 45, and
three family members on State Route 125. The vehicle was traveling at
more than 120 mph when it launched off an embankment, rolled several
times and burst into flames.


NHTSA investigators determined that a rubber all-weather floor mat
found in the wreckage was slightly longer than the mat that belonged in
the vehicle, something that could have snared or covered the
accelerator pedal.


Toyota spokesman John Hanson said the final report had not yet been submitted in the California case.

"We don't know what the actual cause was of that accident other than
preliminary reports that have been published so it's impossible for us
to comment on that particular incident," Hanson said.


In mid-September, Toyota ordered 1,400 Toyota and Lexus dealers
nationwide to ensure that each new, used and loaner vehicle had the
proper floor mats and that the mats were properly secured.


In September 2007, Toyota recalled an accessory all-weather floor
mat sold for use in some 2007 and 2008 model year Lexus ES 350 and
Toyota Camry vehicles because of similar problems.

Very interesting...

I guess it's also very important how

1. We react in a situation like this...
2. How we place the mats in our cars...

All the more important for those of you with 3M/3A/3Ace or what-have-you car mats with those tangled mess of loops that may catch a screw or clip behind that accelerator pedal. Those with blinged or zhng'd pedals BEWARE!

Hear the desperation in their voices...

Note the driver is a highway patrol officer. One who should be much more aware of contingencies while in a car/motorbike on the roads...

Some independent researchers have even investigated the possibility of faulty cruise control modules and the lack of RF shielding in the electronics within. Interference caused by mobile phone transmissions...

2.0-l Forte owners, HEADS-UP!

Worth a quick skim through at least... Click!

The American's equivalent of Singapore's LTA, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration(NHTSA) observes -

"The vehicles in question have an engine control button instead of a traditional ignition key, the agency noted. "Some drivers reported that their attempts to turn the engine off by pressing the control button were unsuccessful," NHTSA said. "In these cases, it appears the drivers were unaware that the button's functionality changes when the vehicle is in motion requiring that it be depressed for 3 seconds (instead of momentarily) to stop the engine," it said."

Aftermarket push button ignitions installed by shoddy technicians...? Regardless, READ THE MANUAL!

Hmmm...