Increasingly rare manual transmission cars will be exempted for heel-toe fans.
General Motors announced today that it would expand use of “enhanced smart pedal” technology to all passenger cars with automatic transmissions and electronic throttle control.
Commonly called brake override, the change involves modifying existing electronic controls to reduce power to the engine in cases where the brake and accelerator pedal are depressed at the same time.
The lack of such a system is thought to be one of the problems with run-away cars. (See National Academy of Sciences and NASA to Study Unintended Acceleration Issues for DOT )
The global roll-out at GM will be completed by the end of 2012.
The system is already in use on GM vehicles in the United States. Chrysler and German automakers also use the design philosophy as an additional safety feature. Ford Motor uses the system on its European vehicles, and is looking at expanding its use in North America.
It is expected that when the National Academy of Sciences finishes its report on unintended acceleration issues for the national Highway traffic Safety Administration, that override software will be proposed as a federal regulation.
Toyota, until recently, did not have such as system, but is starting to expand its application as it continues to be enmeshed in an unintended acceleration controversy that is allegedly responsible for more than 50 deaths.
GM has had for the past several years a braking performance standard that applies to all cars, trucks and crossovers, requiring that the brakes can stop the vehicle within a specific distance. Therefore, brake override is an additional safeguard.
“News media analyses of government data consistently validates that GM’s safety record on this issue is among the strongest in the industry,” said Tom Stephens, vice chairman, GM Global Product Operations. “At the same time, we know safety is top of mind for consumers, so we are applying additional technology to reassure them that they can count on the brakes in their GM vehicle.”
The rollout plan balances the speed of implementation with the validation needed to assure that customers feel no deterioration in drivability.