Lawrence professor to investigate car acceleration problem

APPLETON - David Gerard has worked with the automotive industry before.

Now the Lawrence University economist is working on guidelines to make cars safer. He is one of just 17 people on a panel to try to find out what went wrong when millions of gas pedals got stuck last year, causing several accidents.

"The question is, how do you determine what really is happening and is there some sort of policy that can reduce risks for drivers,” said Gerard.

The panel was put together by the National Academy of Sciences. Now there are engineers on the panel to find out exactly what went wrong, but his role is to help create safety regulations.

"We're a sort of independent committee that can provide them with guidance on these questions," said Gerard.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administrator David Strickland said in a statement, "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."

More than 8 million cars were recalled by Toyota in the last year.

A Toyota spokesman told FOX 11, "Toyota welcomes the independent review of throttle controls. We'll supply all the information they need to conduct this research."

While the focus is on the massive Toyota recall, the NHTSA has received complaints about every other major car maker.

"It may be a wider spread problem,” said Gerard. “We've had the complaints with the Toyotas. Is it the floor mats getting stuck? Is it the pedal getting stuck? Or is it something else?"

The goal is to have a report done by next June.