Technological advances have had a tremendous impact on our lives, altering the way we navigate the world—whether online or on the road. The increasing computerization of cars has made investigating defects contributing to accidents more challenging, as illustrated by a class-action lawsuit attorneys are pursuing against Toyota in Orange County.
For many Americans, the days of sending a letter or fixing one’s vehicle in the garage are more distant memories than modern realities. Technological advances have altered our modes of communication and transportation to the extent that computers are now integral to the storage and transmission of information, to commerce, and to controlling the various functions of vehicles. Such advances have had far-reaching implications for tort lawsuits, as illustrated by recent negotiations in an Orange County courtroom between Toyota Motor Corporation and attorneys representing plaintiffs injured in accidents caused by the sudden unintended acceleration of its cars.
After recalling over 12 million of its vehicles in 2009 for defects that caused numerous fatal and personal injury accidents due to sudden unintended acceleration, Toyota has become the target of more than 200 federal lawsuits. While the company attributes the incidents of sudden unintended acceleration to sticky pedals and faulty floor mats—a contention supported by recent government findings—the plaintiffs’ attorneys assert that the vehicles’ electronic throttle-control systems are to blame, demanding access to the company’s source code despite the fact that federal investigators have already analyzed 280,000 lines of it. At issue is Toyota’s desire to keep the source code a secret, as it is a key feature of its intellectual property.
In part, the complexity of this case derives from the increasingly technologically advanced composition of modern vehicles. These days, computers control many of the functions of a vehicle: the regulation of the fuel injection, temperature, and ignition in the engine; the evaluation of load, incline, and accelerator position during gear selection in the automatic transmission; and emergency braking to prevent skidding via the anti-lock braking system (ABS). More than 30 computers control these and other functions in most cars, and the more customized the vehicle, the greater its dependence on computerization.
Responsible for running the software on a car’s onboard computer system, the source code is integral to ensuring it functions properly. With more than 100 million lines of code in the average vehicle, determining the exact cause of a phenomenon like sudden unintended acceleration can be challenging—especially if the automaker refuses to share such information.
Just reaching an agreement on the terms under which plaintiffs’ attorneys may view Toyota’s source code has been a feat. The company will require them to submit to iris scans prior to entering heavily guarded facilities to view the code, reported the Orange County Register. Upon receiving access to the code, attorneys will have to spend exorbitant sums of money to hire software and electronics experts to analyze it. When the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration investigated the cause of the sudden unintended acceleration responsible for car accidents throughout the country, it enlisted NASA to study the source code, setting quite a precedent for engineers to follow.
