This Car Runs on Code

It takes dozens of microprocessors running 100 million
lines of code to get a premium car out of the driveway,
and this software is only going to get more complex

By Robert N. Charette
Posted 1 Feb 2009 | 5:00 GMT

http://spectrum.ieee.org/transportation/systems/this-car-runs-on-code

As noted by one notable engineer with expert researching skills:

"It’s long past time for the police, media, and public
to stop pretending it’s still 1965 when the only
electronic item in a vehicle was its radio ... "

Toyota Attempts to Legally Hammer its own Whistleblower!

Tentative Sanctions Against Translator in Toyota Probes

Amanda Bronstad, The National Law Journal

December 3, 2014    | 0 Comments

Betsy Benjaminson.

Photo: Yael Argov Hacmun

A federal judge has tentatively sanctioned a former translator and subcontractor for Toyota who posted dozens of confidential documents relating to its sudden-acceleration recalls on her blog.

At the same time, the judge rejected repeated attempts by Toyota attorney Lisa Gilford to extend the sanctions order as to hundreds of other documents against translator Betsy Benjaminson, a self-described whistleblower.

At a hearing on Wednesday, U.S. District Judge James Selna of the Central District of California found that most of the documents that Toyota sought to include as part of the sanction were “simply not covered by the contempt order” because Benjaminson hadn’t yet signed a protective order designating them confidential at the time she obtained them.

“She should’ve been required to sign a protective order,” he said. “For whatever reason, that wasn’t done.”

Benjaminson, who was a subcontractor for Toyota assigned to translate documents from Japanese to English amid probes over sudden-acceleration recalls, later worked for plaintiffs attorneys in the litigation. She has provided internal Toyota documents to various news organizations and is writing a book about the sudden-acceleration recalls.

After she began posting thousands of internal documents on her blog this year, Toyota moved for sanctions, insisting that her actions violated the protective order, which she signed in 2012 while working for a translation services vendor for the plaintiffs.

At the end of the hearing, Gilford, a partner in the Los Angeles office of New York-based Skadden Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom—who argued repeatedly that sanctions should be applied to all the documents since they were subject to the protective order—vowed that her client wouldn’t back down from forcing Benjaminson to return those materials.

“We definitely consider these documents here to be protected and will pursue additional remedies,” she said.

Toyota spokesman Scott Vazin declined to comment.

Benjaminson, who lives in Israel, did not appear for the hearing. Her attorney, Hemant (Shashi) Kewalramani, founding partner of Lee, Jorgensen, Pyle & Kewalramani in Tustin, Calif., said his client would comply with the court’s order but wanted to provide documents to the Department of Justice and an independent monitor overseeing its $1.2 billion deferred-prosecution agreementwith Toyota.

Selna appeared concerned about that request.

“I’m somewhat troubled when you said I want to leave a back door to do that,” he said. “It’s not a palatable position.”

Selna did not issue a final order, stating he planned to review his tentative decision “from top to bottom.”

Toyota, which recalled more than 10 million cars and trucks for faulty accelerator pedals and floor mats that it says caused cars to suddenly accelerate, has paid billions of dollars to resolve hundreds of consumer lawsuits, regulatory fines and the criminal investigation. But Toyota, which is in the process of settling lawsuits filed by people injured or killed in accidents, has never admitted that glitches in the electronic throttle control system of the vehicles caused the problems.

In pursuing sanctions against Benjaminson, Toyota was particularly incensed about a PowerPoint presentation prepared by a plaintiffs software expert that it claimed contained “highly confidential source code information.” Toyota considers its source code to be a trade secret, but plaintiffs attorneys have pushed for access to prove the software has bugs.

On Sept. 2, Selna ordered Benjaminson to show why she should not be sanctioned.

Benjaminson, who removed the contested materials from public view, hasinsisted she obtained most of the documents prior to signing the protective order when she worked for Toyota’s translation-services vendor, Linguistic Services Inc. At that time, she was translating for Toyota’s attorneys at Debevoise & Plimpton as part of the government’s criminal investigation.

In 2012, she began working for two plaintiffs’ translation-services vendors, American Language Services and Technovate Inc.

In his tentative order, Selna found that Benjaminson should be sanctioned as to 88 documents she obtained while working for those firms. But he found that documents Benjaminson translated for Debevoise & Plimpton were “simply not covered by the contempt order” because she hadn’t yet signed the protective order.

Gilford insisted that those documents also were produced in the multidistrict litigation and that Benjaminson had signed the protective order as of this year, when she began posting the documents on her blog.

“As of July of this year, she had all the information she needed to understand what was protected,” she said. “We believe that is enough to find her in contempt with regard to the body of documents.”

Contact Amanda Bronstad at abronstad@alm.com.

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Toyota Unintended Acceleration: Always TERRIFYING & Often AIRBORNE

Most Toyota SUA victims use the word "terrifying" in their description of the crashes or even in the event without a crash, IF they are lucky enough to stop the vehicle before it crashes! The witness said "horrific" and that word is also used a lot to describe these frightening events of unintended ELECTRONIC acceleration.

These accidents are described as a "freak" or "bizarre" because of the erratic behavior of the vehicles at the time of the incidents. Drivers are "shocked" or "dazed" or "confused" afterwards as you can imagine ANYONE would be!

This isn't about age, medical condition, or any other cause superficial to the ACTUAL no-speed or low-speed to AIRBORNE speed in seconds electronic cause of such accidents.

Make no mistake about it...there is a big PR push to make sure the driver is found to be at fault...even if it means conjuring up the most "handy" excuse possible. A real Toyota Corolla victim tells all about Toyota's coercion (a.k.a. BULLY) techniques on Twitter. What the automaker does to its own customers is unconscionable. When these loyal customers faithfully come to it to report this serious safety issue, Toyota's SMART team discredits their accounts of what happened.

If you read comment sections on these likely SUA crash report articles, you will see a lot of inappropriate joking going on at the car crash victim's expense. It happens time and time again.  If you take the time to track these articles, you will see the pattern emerge. Think all is innocent? Think again.

Reflections on Spotlight on NHTSA during Senate Hearing 9/16/14

Mr. Friedman, you weren't looking for the ghost in Toyota's engines! You were trying to cover it all up along with the automaker! Admit it, please!

What you really need is a real GHOSTBUSTER...a.k.a. an embedded electronic throttle control expert...who can track down the glitch-prone bug in the complex engine software! Oh...yeah...Michael Barr, world renown software expert, did that already but you currently choose to turn the other way and act like this information doesn't exist.

You did the same thing with Laura Gipe Christian's (organizer of Facebook's "GM Recall Survivors" group) deadly ignition switch information years ago, didn't you? She tried to give you critical information which you chose to IGNORE!

Stop blowing blue smoke like engine-oil-sludging Toyota vehicles! Yeah...you denied two of my petitions to investigate that on-going issue (see pending class action lawsuit for "excessive oil consumption" in Toyota engines) YEARS ago. You chose NOT to act even after you received a petition with over 3300 Toyota and Lexus owner signatures on it!

NOTHING seems to be changing at NHTSA! As Parris Boyd says, NHTSA = No Help To Solve Anything! You've been in the automakers' back pockets for decades. We, the public, know it!

Stop assisting the automakers in the owner BLAME GAME! This "driver error" theory for ever-increasing electronic sudden unintended acceleration and resulting crashes (many into storefronts, buildings, and homes) is insulting to the vehicle owner's intelligence. It's NO GHOST but rather a complex electronic glitch that most certainly CAN be found if you employee the right experts AND you actually want to find it as opposed to shielding the automaker!

I was a spectator at the Senate hearing on 9/16/14. I was impressed with the bark of Senators McCaskill, Blumenthal, and Markey. I was UNIMPRESSED with your theatrical performance! You are in a state of deliberate denial and the public has real reason to be concerned! If you think we plan to drive vehicles with DEADLY defects another day, think again! Consumers are fed up with cover-up!

JAIL time is needed for ALL who have played dumb for decades! This includes BOTH top automaker executives as well as their enabling partners-in-crime at NHTSA!

Charlene McCarthy Blake

Reflections on Toyota Whistleblower Betsy Benjaminson's Blog Entry "Impeachable,...or not"

Excellent, insights, Betsy! You are on the mark especially as this applies to the U.S. Government's handling of the Toyota sudden unintended acceleration fiasco! No mention at all has been given to ELECTRONICALLY-induced SUA while drivers, passengers, storefront/building/home occupants, pedestrians, and others who continue to be either critically-injured or killed by runaway Toyota vehicles!

How is it that a corporation gains so much power? How is it that $$ becomes more important than human lives? How is it that so many people or entities are involved in Toyota's BLAME GAME but cannot speak about it because of financial reasons?

Something is amiss! Public safety has truly gone by the wayside as evidenced by the criminal actions of Toyota, GM, and other automakers. Further, how is it that Toyota can go after its critics, particularly WHISTLEBLOWERS, with such vengeance without the PUBLIC reacting?

Toyota has essentially maligned experts in the fields of engineering and computer electronics in order to cover up its unexplained and terrifying sudden unintended acceleration problem. It has a history of legally harassing those who seek to advocate for SUA victims. The automaker uses a covert means to challenge and discredit consumer advocates who seek to network with similarly-affected Toyota owners.

Just as important to note, Toyota customers are "attacked" by Toyota's SMART team when they come to Toyota to report these shocking episodes. These meetings are described by Toyota owners as intimidating and belittling. The "team" attempts to tell customers that the SUA events didn't happen as described. The goal is to make the customer take blame for the erratic behavior of the vehicle. Age ("elderly" and "teen" scapegoats), alleged medical condition, alleged impairment, or alleged emergency event ("seizure," "blackout, etc) are used as "explanations" for the SUA events/crashes. If none of those arbitrary "excuses" work, Toyota falls back on the "killer floor mat" theory.

How is it that a corporate entity like Toyota can call the shots, particularly with Government, media, and law enforcement? What's wrong with this picture? WHEN will the public get mobilized to change the status quo? 

Are ELECTRONIC Throttle Control Software Glitches Causing Toyota Sudden Unintended Acceleration?

Toyota and Lexus are #1 in cases of sudden unintended acceleration and FORD is #2. The current unintended acceleration plaguing newer vehicles is the electronically-induced type. The engine throttle control systems depend on computer software to command them. Sometimes glitches occur...like in some of your other electronic devices...which can cause the command to be different than what you desire. The evidence of the glitch is often undetectable after the vehicle is restarted. Unfortunately, the EDR (black box) is not always accurate as shown by expert Dr. Antony Anderson in his analysis of a 2012 Toyota Highlander. The EDR results indicated the driver was not braking when she was doing so. The EDR results are inconsistent.

The key to avoiding a horrific crash during a SUA event is whether or not the vehicle has an effective fail-safe in the event a glitch occurs. If it does not, as in the case of the glitch-prone Toyota ETCS-i, then the vehicle may become a runaway with an ineffective means to stop it. Unfortunately, the safety standards aren't as strict in automobiles as they are in airplanes. Some manufacturers have more effective fail-safes than others. In the case of Toyota, an embedded software expert, Michael Barr (see Oklahoma Bookout vs. Toyota court case involving a 2005 Camry) found that an electronic glitch could induce a SUA event. Another expert, Dr. Henning Leidecker, found that a SUA event could also be triggered by "tin whisker" formation, particularly in 2002-2006 Toyota Camry vehicles.

SUA events have been DEADLY for vehicle occupants as well as pedestrians and people in storefronts, buildings, and even homes. The numbers of such crashes are ever-increasing with the advent of the very complex ELECTRONIC throttle control systems.

With the increase in such serious vehicle crashes, there is a concerted effort to show driver "pedal misapplication" or a "medical condition" or some other reason for the incident...anything other than a vehicle defect. Investigators aren't scrutinizing the buggy electronic throttle control software or other conditions that can elicit a terrifying sudden unintended acceleration incident. They usually just examine the *mechanical* causes which tend to be just red herrings in these cases. Investigators simply don't have the expertise to find such electronic glitches. In fact, the staff at the NHTSA, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, do not have this very specialized training!

Think of it...the next step in electronically-controlled vehicles seems to be so-called "self-driving cars." Do YOU want to be in a such a vehicle when there is no evidence that strict safety standards, particularly in the throttle control system's software, have been adhered to? Will you just BLINDLY trust the automaker (criminally-investigated and nearly-prosecuted Toyota and soon-to-be GM and others?) to come through for you and your family's safety *on its own*?

A recently published Huffington Post article by Jonathan Handel, 

How Do We Know Driverless Cars Are Safe? Google Says 'Trust Us'

Posted: 07/01/2014 7:23 pm EDT Updated: 07/02/2014 1:48 pm EDT speaks to these very issues and poses tough questions about Google's "driverless" vehicles. Educate yourself carefully before you put your faith in automakers who have knowingly lied to their customers and the government for decades. Study the issue of vehicle electronic sudden unintended acceleration and ask WHY we aren't seeing it addressed publicly. WHY is blame placed on the driver with little more than speculation about which pedal was used or with little more than an assumption on medical condition. This is being done *even when the drivers steadfastly cite a VEHICLE PROBLEM as the cause of the crash. Absence of proof is not proof of absence of a serious ELECTRONIC computer glitch or other electronically-caused SUA. 

Toyota Sudden Unintended Acceleration Crashes

Most Toyota SUA victims use the word "terrifying" in their description of the crashes or even in the event without a crash, IF they are lucky enough to stop the vehicle before it crashes! The witness said "horrific" and that word is also used a lot to describe these frightening events of unintended ELECTRONIC acceleration.

These accidents are described as a "freak" or "bizarre" because of the erratic behavior of the vehicles at the time of the incidents. Drivers are "shocked" or "dazed" or "confused" afterwards as you can imagine ANYONE would be!

This isn't about age, medical condition, or any other cause superficial to the ACTUAL no-speed or low-speed to AIRBORNE speed in seconds electronic cause of such accidents.

Make no mistake about it...there is a Big PR push to make sure the driver is found to be at fault...even if it means conjuring up the most "handy" excuse possible. A real Toyota Corolla victim tells all about Toyota's coercion (a.k.a. BULLY) techniques on Twitter. See @04francene. No one is laughing about what the automaker is doing to its own customers when they come to it to report this serious safety issue happening in their vehicles!

If you read comment sections on these articles, you see a lot of inappropriate joking going on at the car crash victim's expense. It happens time and time again if you take the time to track the articles about these horrific crashes. Think that's innocent? Think again.

CLASSIC Parking Lot ELECTRONIC Unintended Acceleration Crashes into Storefronts or Buildings

Classic *parking lot* electronic sudden unintended acceleration observations:

1) driver pulls into or out of parking space/spot with braking
2) engine revs loudly...ROARING!
3) open throttle vehicle TAKES OFF, often jumping curbs, climbing embankments, crossing medians, careening into fences
4) CRASHES into storefront, building, or homes with bulldozer-like power 
5) wheels continue spinning AFTER impact, squealing and burning rubber until smoke fills space
6) driver in a state of shock about what just happened
7) IF death or injury to others, driver's reputation slammed and charges filed

THEN...police and automaker rule DRIVER ERROR (or "medical condition" or "elderly" or "impaired") because we must NOT blame the highly-complex, computer-driven, electronic glitch-prone vehicle!!

BEWARE of auto industry-known initial low-speed or no-speed ELECTRONIC sudden unintended acceleration! This type of #SUA is far more common than you think!

Toyota & "$$ Friends" SPINNING?

PR spin by automaker, law enforcement, and media in full force? Do they desperately desire the final report to say "pedal misapplication" in order to deflect from the ELECTRONICS of the computer-controlled throttle control system?

Let's see if the driver is hung out to dry publicly as so many have been in these crashes into storefronts, buildings, and homes. Jail time for drivers has been levied with nothing more than ruling out the mechanical causes. In cases of Toyota and Lexus, inconsistent and inaccurate EDR information has been used to falsely incriminate SUA crash victims. Character assassinations in the media prior to concrete evidence presentation seem to be the norm.

Are automakers nervous that the truth will be revealed publicly? Why are so many of the articles about such SUA events lacking in pertinent details, like make, model, and model year? Why aren't the exact words of the driver stated? Why is there usually immediate speculation that the driver pressed the wrong pedal? These late model vehicles are *computer-controlled*. Glitches occur often. Critical safety standards aren't strictly regulated and fail-safes have been found to be ineffective by experts in the embedded software field.

Think about how often you reboot your electronic devices. Have you considered that an electronically-driven vehicle has many of the same "glitch" issues? Are you erroneously assuming that your safety has been ensured by the auto manufacturer? Just know, the auto industry is not regulated like the airline industry. Educate yourself on this critical safety matter.

The Car Wash Association knows the truth about sudden unintended acceleration in late model vehicles, particularly Chryslers. A FastStop Car Wash just admitted that there is a list of the most common vehicles to suddenly accelerate. After an employee was thrown from a Ford Expedition as it careened out-of-control from a car wash and into a power box on the side of a building, this information was revealed by the media. In addition, Honda has just become the first automaker to address electronic throttle control software problems.

Why doesn't the public have access to the most-often-to-suddenly-accelerate vehicle list? How hard are the automakers trying to keep such information hidden? Will what you do not know ultimately put you or your family in unnecessary jeopardy? Will the PR agenda of the automakers continue to push for a "pedal misapplication" final report in these crash events?

How long will the flawed study into Toyota and Lexus sudden unintended acceleration by NASA/NHTSA be touted as a reason to blame the vehicle owners? How often will the old Audi SUA investigation be cited by online PR trolls in an effort to justify immediate incrimination of the driver victims? More importantly, how long will the public be deceived?

Why was Toyota whistleblower Betsy Benjaminson recently issued a subpoena by Toyota Motor Corporation? Is this an on-going effort by the automaker to silence the exposure of Toyota internal documents related to the electronic sudden unintended acceleration? Why hasn't Ms. Benjaminson's information been covered by the U.S. media as it has been overseas? More importantly, why hasn't the U.S. Department of Justice made reference to this information in its recent criminal investigation of Toyota? Why have we only heard about *mechanical* causes of SUA?

Something is amiss. Doesn't the public deserve to know the truth? After all, electronic sudden unintended acceleration affects everyone, not just vehicle drivers. Pedestrians and storefront occupants have been killed or maimed. Even residents in homes have been impacted. SUA events are not just occurring on the highways; they are happening in parking lots and from a standstill at traffic stops, too.

This serious problem isn't just about elderly drivers, drivers with medical conditions, or impaired drivers as a seemingly pervasive PR effort might have you believe. This is about vehicles out-of-control because of electronic glitches and ineffective fail-safes. This is about unregulated critical safety standards in complex electronically-controlled vehicles.

Facts about Toyota's Sudden Unintended Acceleration as of Spring 2014

Singer/songwriter Kris Kitko did an AWESOME job on her YouTube video directed at Toyota regarding her own real world experience with Toyota SUA, sudden unintended acceleration. With her satirical approach, she completely destroyed the Toyota and NHTSA myth about SUA, namely “pedal misapplication” by drivers. Unfortunately, Kris Kitko’s YouTube video is no longer available for viewing online.

In the wake of the NHTSA/DOJ $1.2 BILLION settlement following a CRIMINAL investigation, Kris should be encouraged to use her finely-honed musical skills to do a sequel to her first Toyota SUA YouTube video. The U.S. Federal Government allowed Toyota “deferred prosecution” in this settlement provided it follow the steps outlined in the terms of the agreement. No one…not one single Toyota executive…is going to serve any prison time for knowingly withholding evidence that could have saved many lives and ensured public safety on the roads.Toyota ADMITTED that it LIED to both the Toyota customers and the government.

Michael Barr, renowned embedded systems expert, after studying Toyota’s ETCS-I far longer than NASA did, found the existence of faults in the software which could lead to a real-world, potentially-catastrophic SUA event with a number of potentially ineffective failsafes. Imagine flying down the road in a Toyota with no functioning brake override to exit a software task-death! Isn’t that a bit like being on a high-speed roller coaster and having the track fail to keep you on? And want to know the most SHOCKING part? Toyota reportedly didn't have a copy of the code in their OWN monitor chip! Michael Barr and company had to SHOW them! Can we just say, “Scary!”

Toyota cites that there is no electronic cause for SUA in its vehicles based on the short-duration investigations by NHTSA and NASA. Michael Barr and other experts have shown these studies to be scientifically seriously flawed. First, the ETCS-I software investigation was extremely limited. Only a SMALL FRACTION of the embedded software was tested by NASA.

Secondly, Toyota misrepresented the presence of EDAC RAM  (error detection and correction random access memory) while indications of this issue were apparently redacted in the original NHTSA report.  This misled NASA into NOT LOOKING INTO a number of potential sources of failure – which they may otherwise might have.

According to NASA expert, Dr. Henning Leidecker, some Toyota's can grow "tin whiskers" within certain electronic components. This can result in short circuits which can lead to yet another type of electronically-induced SUA event. Dr. Leidecker and associates actually DID FIND and study a case of "tin whiskers" found within the accelerator pedal assembly; rendering a Toyota vehicle UNDRIVEABLE.

Dr. Leidecker suggests driving the affected Toyota vehicles is "a game of Russian roulette." Dr. Leidecker is most concerned about 2002-2006 Toyota Camrys with their potential to grow "tin whiskers." He indicates the risk of this condition increases over time.

Meanwhile, whistleblower Betsy Benjaminson remains scared for Toyota drivers. She is convinced Toyota's own internal documents strongly indicate SOMETHING IS WRONG with their ETCS-i ELECTRONICS . She says "ghosts" indicate glitches can cause a runaway car. Betsy now blogs on a Blogger website where she continues to EXPOSE key facts that she says open the company's PR KIMONO. Betsy's goal is to reveal the true inside story of Toyota's SUA problem and to demonstrate and expose the differences between the company walk and company talk.

How did Betsy turn whistleblower? As a Japanese-to-English translator, Betsy was hired by Toyota's legal team to translate documents for the criminal investigation of Toyota. Just like the DOJ, Betsy SMELLED A RAT. After checking with top experts, she came forward to alert the public to the major safety issues involved.

Toyota owner, turned consumer activist-blogger, Parris Boyd has been blogging about what he calls “The Recall King” (a.k.a. Toyota) for years. His blog, “Beware of Toyota. Their next victim may be YOU…” was initially an outlet for his frustration with Toyota, after his MR2 Spyder’s engine disintegrated at low mileage. Parris went for assistance. What he faced was an unresponsive, stonewalling company in a state of denial.

During the height of Toyota’s engine oil SLUDGE debacle, Parris created his blog with the goal of using his free speech to help other similarly-affected Toyota owners. He also wanted the public to know just how Toyota and its dealerships treated their “valued customers.” Parris’s Blogger website currently receives over 100 views a day!

So, WHY is Toyota trying so hard to CONVINCE its own customers and the public that its vehicles suffer from SUA caused only by 1) improperly placed or type of floor mats (huh?); 2) sticky accelerator pedals (like those pesky sticky Sienna minivan sliding doors?); or 3) pedal misapplication (oh...the little old lady theory?). Why does it IGNORE the recent findings of the electronic experts? WHY isn’t it currently LISTENING to its own customers?

Well, YOU be the judge. The FACTS are before you.