I’ve found myself being repeatedly annoyed by the stories recently about people in Toyota cars suffering from “Unplanned Acceleration”, where the card supposedly won’t slow down. All of the drivers keep on saying that they were using the brakes but not slowing down, and I’ve always wondered why those drivers don’t just turn off the engine, or put the car in neutral.

I still don’t get why they can’t put the car in neutral and coast to a stop, but I do understand more about why they can’t turn off the engine or pull the key out.  Put simply, it appears there isn’t a key. The cars involved all appear to have these keyless start buttons.

I’d never really thought of keyed ignitions as a safety feature, but it sure seems like it might become one…

[Updated, 13th March : This YouTube video shows how to fix the problem of 'Unplanned Acceleration' in epic style. Love it.]