Japanese auto brand Toyota is focused on creating the safest vehicles on the market and it's building new technologies to guarantee that future Toyota models will not face the issue of unintended acceleration. The new Intelligent Clearance Sonar and Toyota Drive-Start Control technologies will help to eliminate accidents caused by pedal/confusion improper gear selection.
So, how does the new technology work? Well, Intelligent Clearance Sonar detects objects that the driver cannot see (or won't notice) and automatically activates the vehicle's brakes to avoid a potential crash. To begin with, an alarm goes off, then the engine powers off and the brakes are applied, until the vehicle stops completely if necessary.
Drive-Start Control also can prevent incorrect gear selection when the vehicle is in full-throttle mode. Toyota gives an example where a driver backs into an object, and accidentally applies full throttle instead of braking, then selects "drive." If this happened, the new system would flash a warning at the driver, then limit acceleration by slashing engine output. The Intelligent Clearance Sonar autonomous braking feature would then activate.
Toyota is creating several other new safety technologies as well, as safety issues are extremely important to both Toyota and its drivers.