Car’s technology led to 3-car crash, says driver
AMOTHER-OF-FOUR convicted of a driving offence in Somerset says she only ploughed into oncoming traffic when her driver-assist technology “took over” the wheel.
Diane Bryan, 58, got a new Toyota RAV4 Excel through the motability scheme six months before she was involved in a smash.
The scheme allows people who receive mobility personal independence payments (PIP) to trade their payments in for an adapted vehicle.
Mrs Bryan said when she tried to turn left round a bend the wheel refused to budge and then whiteline technology didn’t kick in to pull her back when she crossed the central point.
Dashcam footage shows the car veering over to the other side of the road, colliding with two oncoming vehicles. The drivers of those cars walked away uninjured.
Mrs Bryan was found guilty in court of driving without due care and attention and was given six points and an £800 fine. She says the car was scrapped before it was tested.
The Toyota RAV4 includes features such as a pre-collision system designed to mitigate collisions by activating the brakes if the driver fails to.
Other features include Lane Trace Assist which keeps the car in the centre of the lane using steering assist and an emergency call system to activate automatically in the event of an accident.
Mrs Bryan says in February this year she received a recall notice on the Data Communication Module of the emergency call system.
Errors listed included “emergency calls... cannot be received by the vehicle” and “the most recent location data will be cleared”.
Speaking after the case, Cambridge Weight Plan consultant Mrs Bryan, from Barnsley, South Yorkshire, said: “I’m a criminal for the first time in my life.
“I have a criminal record for something outside of my control.
“I’m scared of driving and am nervous on the roads. I don’t drive on roads I don’t know.
“The car was designed that at no point should it ever be able to cross a white line, but it went straight over.
“If you get close to a line the steering wheel vibrates – if you ignore the vibration it recentres itself in the road. But there was no vibration in the steering wheel and it didn’t recentre itself.
“I went to court and three magistrates totally disbelieved what my husband and I said. I got charged with driving without due care and attention.
“I was offered a Safe & Considerate Driving Course instead of points and a fine which I accepted, but they couldn’t provide an adapted vehicle.
“Because I no longer had my vehicle I couldn’t do it but had I been able-bodied, I could have done the course.
“Instead I was given six points on my licence for the first time in over 30 years of driving.”
Mrs Bryan and husband Stan Bryan, 56, were driving from Southampton to Glastonbury on December 17, 2022 when the accident happened.
Mrs Bryan says she was moving from a 60mph zone into a 40mph zone.
She says the car went straight on at a bend despite turning the wheel after it was pulled out of her hand “by the car” and started spinning.
She also claims the brakes and pre-collision system didn’t work, the airbags didn’t deploy and says the emergency call feature – designed to call the emergency services in the event of an accident – also failed.
“Nothing worked the way it should,” she said.
“My door didn’t open, and my husband had to kick his door open.
“I just remember him screaming my name from outside and trying to get the door open. The fire service cut me out of the car.”
Mrs Bryan alleges the car was taken away by police but was mistakenly scrapped before it was inspected.
She has a spinal cord lesion in her neck and is paralysed down the right-hand side.
But she says while awaiting trial, she went through a full DVLA medical assessment and had her licence renewed with no conditions.
But at Barnsley Magistrates’ Court on February 22, she was charged with driving without due care and attention. She was found guilty and sentenced.
Now Mrs Bryan says she has a new car but is struggling to get back on the roads and come to terms with criminal charges.
“I’m really struggling to accept being a criminal,” said Mrs Bryan. “I got a fine of £800 – my only income is PIP.
“I’ve got a new car, but I’m scared to have driver assist switched on.”
Toyota was approached for comment but says because they were unable to examine the car they could not provide a comment.
A spokesperson for Avon & Somerset Police said: “A vehicle was collected by a recovery company following a three-vehicle collision on Sunday 17 December 2022 on the A361 in Dean, Shepton Mallet.
“As this was a low-level road traffic collision, a vehicle would not be recovered for examination under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act.
“The company was contacted two days later by the driver on 19 December who asked where the vehicle was so she could inform her insurance company.
“On 29 December, the vehicle was collected by an individual acting on behalf of the insurance company, as is standard procedure.
“The driver was spoken to under caution by officers where, when asked, she noted no recent issues with her vehicle.
“She did not mention any defects through the course of the interview.
“The individual has now been found guilty of driving without due care and attention and would have had an opportunity for this to be raised as part of their defence.”