U.S. REVIEW OF TOYOTA RECORDERS - DRIVER ERROR

According to ABC News, a key element of the U.S. government's investigation of Toyota Motor Corp's electronic throttles and other systems found no defects beyond what is known to explain crashes blamed on unintended acceleration, the Transportation Department said on Tuesday.
Findings presented to Congress on the agency's review of selected Toyota electronic data recorders are preliminary and could end up bolstering the automaker's contention that mechanical and equipment problems behind huge recalls and possible driver error are to blame, not vehicle electronics.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said it drew no conclusions from the examination of 58 recorders as part of its multi-layered investigation to see if electronic throttles may have glitches that in rare cases can cause unexpected surges or even wild acceleration.
In more than half of the "black boxes" examined, there was no indication that drivers even applied brakes and in other cases partial braking was noted.
"Reviewing event data recorders is one small part" of the government's 'effort to get to the bottom of unintended acceleration in Toyota vehicles,' said Transportation Department spokeswoman Olivia Alair.
Toyota, which recalled more than 8 million cars worldwide this year and last over unintended acceleration related to sticking gas pedals and loose floor mats that can jam the accelerator, has said its throttle systems are sound.
NHTSA's investigation into the the unintended acceleration continues