Telecommunications for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Inc.
8630 Fenton Street, Suite 121 ! Silver Spring, MD 20910-3803
! Phone: 301-563-9112 or 919-533-5015
[email protected] ! www.TDIforAccess.org
May24,2016
Mr.AkioToyoda
PresidentandChiefExecutiveOfficer
ToyotaMotorCorporation
1 Toyota-Cho
Toyota City
Aichi Prefecture 471-8571
Japan
[email protected]
DearMr.Toyoda,
OnbehalfoftheBoardofDirectorswithTelecommunicationsfortheDeafandHardof
Hearing(“TDI”),thisistoexpressourseriousconcernsaboutalifeanddeathissueandto
giveyousomerecommendationstoaddressit.WeencourageToyotatoinitiatesome
safetymeasuresforallitsbrandnameToyotaandLexusautomotiveofferingsforits
customers(includingindividualswhoaredeafandhardofhearing)thatliveinAmerica,
Japan,andothercountries.
Establishedin1968,TDIwasoriginallyfoundedtopromotedistributionofTTYsinthedeaf
communityacrossAmerica,andtopublishanannualinternationaldirectoryofTTY
numbers.Today,itisanactivenationalconsumeradvocacyorganizationfocusingits
energiesandresourcesonaddressingequalaccessissuesintelecommunications,media,
andinformationtechnologyforfourconstituenciesindeafnessandhearingloss,
specificallypeoplewhoaredeaf,hard-of-hearing,late-deafened,ordeaf-blind.Since1997,
TDIhasmadeover2,000filingswithanumberofU.S.governmentalagenciesonissuesthat
havegreatimpactonusinareasofrelayservices,captioningofvideoprogramming,access
totheInternet,emergencyaccess,andcaptioningofmoviesontheplane,etc.
IthascometoourattentionthatWayneandJoanFlammer,adeafcouplefrom
Madisonville,Ohio,diedafewweeksagofromcarbonmonoxidepoisoning.Thiswasonly
becausetheydidn’trealizethattheircar,aToyotaRAV4wasleftrunninginthegarage.
Theircarhadakeylessignitionsystem,wherebytheyonlyhadtopushthebuttonto
activatetheircarengine.Welearnedalsothatfrom2009to2015,eighteendeafandhard
ofhearingindividualsinAmericahavediedfromsimilarcarbonmonoxidepoisoning
accidents.HereisthelinkontheMadisonville,Ohioincident:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCrocyz7aOc.
Wefeelstronglythattheremustbepreventivemeasurestakenbytheautomotiveindustry
toavoidsuchincidentsinthefuture.WebelievethatToyota,withsupportfromits
engineeringteam,cancomeupwithaccessiblemeansforallofitscustomers(including
thosewhoaredeafandhardofhearing)tohaveapositive,safedrivingexperience,aswell
astohavetheirunattendedvehiclessecureandsafeathome.
Nowthatwehaveseatbelts,andairbagsthatgiveusadditionalprotectionineventof
accidents,itislogicaltoexpectfeaturesavailablethatalertusifweinadvertentlyleavethe
motorrunning.Forexample,iftheengineisidlinglongerthanfiveminutesinastationary
position,thecarwouldsignalbyflashingthelights,insideandoutsideuntilthemotoris
turnedoff.Thiswouldbeinparalleltothecontinuedwarningsviaaudiobeepsandvisual
cuesonthedashboarduntilourseatbeltsarefastened.Pleaseincorporatesimilarsafety
measuresforsituationsinwhichthemotorisleftrunningbeyondacertainamountoftime.
WecommendToyotaonitsrecenteffortstomakesomeofitsmodels,particularlyfully
accessiblevansforpeoplewithdisabilitiesthatusewheelchairs.
http://www.donringlertoyota.com/blog/2015/november/16/toyota-invests-big-moneyin-robotics-and-accessibility.htm.WesincerelyhopeToyotawilladdressourconcernsand
requestbyincorporatingoursuggestionsintoitsaccessibilityandroboticsprogram.
Thankyouforgivingthismatteryourseriousconsideration.Westandreadytoworkwith
Toyotaandothersonthistopic.PleasefeelfreetocontactourExecutiveDirector,Claude
Stoutanytimeatthisemailaddress,[email protected]
thislettertotheHonorableAnthonyFoxx,SecretaryoftheU.S.Departmentof
Transportation,andtheChiefExecutiveOfficersofafewothermajorautomotive
companiesfortheirinformationandfollow-upaction.Weaskthattheautomotiveindustry
joinToyotaingivingthisissuethehighestpriority.Wealsowelcomesupportforthis
proposedsafetyinitiativefromourgovernmentofficialsinWashington,D.C.
Sincerely,
Sheila Conlon-Mentkowski
Board President
Telecommunications for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Inc. (TDI)
cc:
Members of the TDI Board of Directors
Claude Stout, Executive Director, TDI
The Honorable Anthony Foxx, Secretary, the U.S. Department of Transportation
Mary Barra, Chief Executive Officer, General Motors Corporation
Mark Fields, Chief Executive Officer, Ford Motor Company
Dieter Zetsche, Chief Executive Officer, Daimler AG
Takahiro Hachigo, Chief Executive Officer, Honda Motor Company
Chung Mong-koo, Chief Executive Officer, Hyundai Motor Group
Harald Kruger, Chief Executive Officer, BMW
Martin Lundstedt, Chief Executive Officer, Volvo Group Global