I stopped watching Congressional hearings because I came away from those I did watch with the feeling that the Congressional questions were posed to elicit a personal animus towards a particular issue or just asinine statements from Congressman who wanted to impress their constituents back home how smart they were.
But today I was compelled to watched briefly the Congressional hearing of the Toyota USA president regarding safety issues. I was particularly interested in as much as there have been only 19 deaths in 10 years due to malfunctioning Toyota’s. That is less than 1.9 per year.
When you consider that According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration there are about 43,000 people killed in fatal car accidents each year in the United States. Roughly, 40 percent of the fatal crashes are alcohol-related. In addition to fatal accidents, about 2.9 million people are injured each year. It seems like a waste of tax payers money to hold hearings about a malfunctioning accelerator pedal. But when I learned that the Chairman of the committee was from Michigan and the inquisitor when I turned on the television was Congressman Dingle also from Michigan. I realized what is really going on here.
Toyota has been selling safe efficient cars that are moderately priced for over 25 years. Now this hearing is called because of 19 deaths? I think 19 deaths are tragic, but if the 2 witnesses that testified today are any example of the problem. The hearing should be adjourned!
The lady and her husband told a horror story of her Lexus suddenly accelerating to 100 miles an hour despite her putting the car in reverse and other attempts to slow the car down, but after six minutes it slowed down! Had she just turned the key off or put the car in neutral it would slow the car down rapidly! I do not question the lady’s statement, but I do question her ability to handle an unfortunate occurence. And if the car allowed her to put the car in reverse at 100 miles an hour why did the transmission not self destruct?
It is apparent to me that this is just a Democrat “witch hunt” to demonize the Japanese car maker, and to benefit those who make GM and Chryslers autos back in Michigan. The Auto Workers Union might as well conduct the hearings!
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