DOT enlists NASA to inspect cars

WASHINGTON, March 30 (UPI) -- The U.S. Department of Transportation said it would enlist help from NASA scientists to review acceleration problems that led to massive Toyota recalls.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration had also asked the National Academy of Sciences to examine the issue.

Unintended acceleration in vehicles has led to the recall of millions of Toyota vehicles, but has not brought a consensus on what caused the problem, which has been connected to as many as 50 traffic deaths.

In congressional hearings, it has been alleged that in an era of increasing use of electronics in vehicles, the NHTSA is ill-equipped to investigate the matter by itself.

The Department of Transportaion said NASA engineers had been invited to look at "computer controlled electronic systems, electromagnetic interference and software integrity."

Both NASA and the National Academy of Sciences are expected to turn in peer-reviewed studies at a collective cost of about $3 million. The NASA study is due in late summer, transportation officials said.

"We are bringing the best minds and talents to resolve this issue. We will not rest until we have identified and addressed any potential vehicle-related causes of unintended acceleration," NHTSA Administrator David Strickland said.