The U.S. auto safety regulator's recent interim report that found driver error to be the probable cause of most of the sudden acceleration accidents it probed involving Toyota Motor Corp. vehicles confirms the warnings of an American psychologist and ergonomist that motorists failed to use the brakes.

Richard Schmidt, a safety expert and professor emeritus of psychology at the University of California, Los Angeles, said in a recent telephone interview with The Japan Times that an avalanche of negative media exposure about Toyota's massive recalls spurred a spike in complaints in the past several months, causing undue damage to the carmaker's reputation.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's preliminary report "is . . . exactly what I expected. I wasn't really surprised," said Schmidt, who worked to resolve cases of unintended acceleration blamed on the Audi 5000 in the 1980s.