GM to use brake safety measure by 2012

DETROIT - General Motors Co. will install a brake safety measure that can prevent unintended acceleration on all its new vehicles worldwide by 2012, the company said Monday.

The announcement comes as federal regulators consider making the technology mandatory on new cars and trucks after Toyota's recent problems with vehicles that can speed out of control.

Congress also is exploring the issue after a series of hearings last month on Toyota's recall of millions of vehicles over gas pedals that get stuck in the open-throttle position or are trapped by floor mats. Both problems can cause sudden, unintended acceleration.

Toyota vehicles have been linked to at least 51 sudden-acceleration deaths.

GM, which makes the Cadillac, Buick, Chevrolet, and GMC brands, has not had major problems with unintended acceleration. But the company said it was taking the step as a means of reassuring customers about the safety of its vehicles.

A brake override reduces power to the engine when the brakes are applied with at least moderate force while the accelerator also is engaged. It should also slow a vehicle if the gas pedal is stuck.

GM plans to install the software for the system in the electronic throttle control systems of newly manufactured vehicles. The automaker already used it in several models in the United States, mostly high horsepower vehicles such as the Chevrolet Corvette.

"We know safety is top of mind for consumers, so we are applying additional technology to reassure them that they can count on the brakes in their GM vehicle," Tom Stephens, vice chairman for global product operations, said in the statement.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which regulates auto safety, is exploring whether to require the brake override on new vehicles.

Toyota already has said it would use the system in most new Toyota and Lexus vehicles by the end of 2010.

GM's move is aimed at starting programs before any legislation takes effect, said John Wolkonowicz, an auto industry analyst at IHS Global Insight in Lexington, Mass.

"It's a smart move because the government will require it anyway," Wolkonowicz said. "I think there is a lot of driver error in these claims. You have to foolproof the cars."