Electronics are prolific in many markets today from the computer industry to automotive and aerospace industries. Some aircraft today are so complex that they couldn’t fly without computers. Many vehicles are now using technology and electronics that were once only in aircraft like throttle by wire and boxes that can record events leading up to an accident.

Toyota has had a very rough year with massive recalls across many of its vehicle lines for various reasons including highly publicized bouts of unintended acceleration. The U.S. Department of Transportation fined Toyota a record $16.4 million this year for deceiving regulators on how widespread the issues with its automobiles were. The government called in a wide range of experts to determine what was causing issues with vehicle electronics and NASA as well as the National Academy of Sciences was part of the investigation.

Congress is now eyeing new legislation that would force the automotive industry to make safety updates to vehicles in the wake of the massive recalls by Toyota. If the legislation were made into law, all automakers would be required to install black boxes into their automobiles and to pay fees to the government to fund safety agencies.

The black boxes would record vehicle parameters leading up to an accident to help investigators determine if the accident was an issue with the vehicle or driver error. The draft of the legislation was released by Energy and Commerce Chairman Henry Waxman of California. The legislation would also remove any caps on civil penalties a carmaker was subject to.

The legislation would also give the NHTSA the power to order an immediate recall of vehicles if it finds that there is an "imminent hazard of death or serious injury." Other sections of the draft legislation would impose new safety standards that relate to brake override systems and preventing pedals from being trapped on the floor.

Yahoo Finance reports that Toyota has already agreed to add brake override systems to all future models and to add the systems to some existing vehicles as well. These override systems would automatically cut the throttle when the driver stepped on the brake. That feature will signal the death of parking lot burnouts.

Under the legislation, any executive in the auto industry who provides false information to the government would be subject to fines of as much as $250 million. The legislation would also add a new "vehicle user fee" of $3 per vehicle that would increase to $9 per vehicle by the third year the fee was enacted. The money would be used to fund the NHTSA, which is said to be underfunded and unequipped to investigate vehicle safety issues. A hearing on the proposed legislation is set for next week and Congress will consider the legislation later this year.

The issues with the safety of Toyota vehicles certainly led to the new legislation. Toyota has announced that it has appointed a six member panel comprised of Norman Augustine, a former chairman and CEO of Lockheed Martin Corp.; Patricia Goldman, a former vice chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board; and Brian O'Neill, a former president of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety to advise it in safety and quality issues.