The default configuration of pedals for automobiles, with the accelerator and also the brake so close with each other poses a risk, believe it or not. Unfortunately, no one has come up with anything that’s good enough yet. This can pose issues, as an individual who jams a foot down in an emergency can hit the gas instead of the brakes, which can cause mishaps, even fatalities. Every now and again, someone comes up with a solution, and that’s where Masuyuki Naruse comes in.
Gas and brakes no more on individual pedals using the naruse pedal
Masuyuki Naruse had two incidents where he accidentally hit the gas instead of the brakes. Naruse (the end is pronounced say), according to the New York Times, knew there was a solution. He got to work designing a pedal that could c blend acceleration and braking, and fix the fatal flaw within the dual pedal design. The first prototype was finished in 1991.
Toyota takes a look
This pedal is for both gas and brakes, but different. To brake, you push your foot down normally. The gas is a lever, which you move with your foot side to side. To speed up, you move your foot to the right. Brake normally. Toyota got one about 10 years ago. They didn’t decide to buy it. Naruse isn’t the first person to think of it either. In Sweden, engineers are testing a similar pedal by a guy named Sven Gustafsson.
That addresses a real problem
Dual pedals pose a real threat. In Japan, the Institute for Traffic Accident Research and Data Analysis found there were 6,700 accidents from individuals hitting the wrong pedal. 9,500 injuries and 37 deaths resulted from them. In the 1980s, a psychological study by Richard A. Schmidt found the foot can slip to the wrong pedal if neruomuscular processes are disrupted, which can be caused by an emergency situation. Naruse pedals are certified as street lawful for 130 vehicles, and Naruse invited Akio Toyoda, president of Toyota to test the pedal himself, but Toyoda did not accept.
Further reading
NY Times
nytimes.com/2010/08/04/business/global/04pedal.html?pagewanted=2 and _r=1
