Toyota executives have been rightly accused at Congressional hearings for their part in causing the dangerous defects in their vehicles to affect consumers and the public, but many studying the situation to believe the Federal government to be a key player in Toyota's automotive problems. A recent hearing of the House Committee on Oversight and Governmental Reform, co-chaired by Vista, CA representative Darrell Issa devoted its efforts to the Toyota recalls and the way the NHTSA handled consumer incidents and the automakers' carelessness.

The defective Toyota vehicle's problems with failed brakes, stuck gas pedals and obstructive floor mats caused countless injuries and more than 30 fatalities and the resulting crashes were highly publicized. Toyota has recalled more than 8 million of their products, and American lawmakers have shown that Toyota simultaneously attempted to fix the braking and sudden acceleration problems while putting forth the effort internally to quell United States government investigations. Lawmakers have also turned their gaze toward the NHTSA. They have found that just 2 of the NHTSA's 125 engineers responsible for evaluating the purported flaws of defective vehicles are electronics engineers and conclude that their evaluations may be considered inadequate.

Lawmakers are suitably indignant about the failure of both the Federal Government and the well-respected Toyota Corporation to maintain and uphold the standards of safety and protection for consumers in the United States and are brewing new and preventative legislation to stop future automotive defects of this sort from entering the market. These proposals include a requirement to have automakers install automotive black boxes like those present in airplanes to help record and contain information about accidents and car performance that can be downloaded by vehicle regulators and the requirement that newly made cars must have software ensuring an engine's throttle goes to idle during braking. Some of Toyota's newer models do currently have black box-like devices, but executives confess that there is only one machine in the United States able to evaluate their data.

Congressional actions are also being considered to add to the NHTSA's power to impose civil penalties on negligent manufacturers of up to $16.375 million by giving them the authority to also impose criminal penalties on all automakers that delay product recalls in any way.

Although Americans are justifiably disappointed in the behavior of both the Toyota Corporation and the Federal Government in response to this crisis, new safety laws promise an optimistic future for the prevention of further harm to the American public.

Anyone hurt or otherwise affected by defective Toyota vehicles should contact their local product defect and personal injury lawyer to help them find their way and the complicated legal morass of claims, forms and documentation. An experienced attorney can properly evaluate the case to help victims regain financial compensation.