At the time, two theories emerged to explain why these pedals suddenly had minds of their own. One involved software malfunctions, while the other blamed floor mats that slid around and pinned the pedals down.
But according to Gladwell, the software explanation doesn’t hold up considering the fact that multiple tests have shown that even when a driver is pushing the throttle to the floor, hitting the brakes will stop the car.
And
an investigation by the Department of Transportation in 2011 found that floor mats only accounted for a small fraction the accidents.
The real culprit? Human error. More often than not, drivers who reported that their accelerators were stuck were inadvertently flooring it and thinking they were pressing the brakes. Data from many of the “black boxes” from cars involved in incidents of unintended acceleration showed that in most cases, the brakes were
never even touched.
The drivers were often in vehicles that were new or unfamiliar to them, or for whatever reason, they just got confused.
One of the more frustrating aspects of this whole fiasco was the media’s response. Instead of alerting drivers to the potential dangers of confusing the accelerator with the brake — which could happen to any of us — the focus was on Toyota’s cover up, the scary and unpredictable software in cars, and of course, the floor mats.