Mazda has announced that starting soon, all of the company’s new cars will be equipped with brake override systems. The brake override system gives the brake pedal priority over the gas if they are ever both pressed at the same time. Nissan already uses a brake override system and Toyota has also announced plans for the system, according to Automotive News, via Autoblog. The brake override system would help to prevent an unintended acceleration situation, like the ones that have been reported on Toyotas recently, from becoming uncontrollable.

Mazda says that none of its vehicles have had any incidents of unintended acceleration, so the implementation of the brake override system is simply a safety feature rather than a fix to a problem. The company has not yet announced a timetable for when the system to give the brake pedal priority will be installed on new vehicles. Mazda says the system will cost about $50 per vehicle.

The brake override system is surely a good feature for a car to have, but it would be a little more reassuring, even if it is naive, to think that a company put enough time into designing its cars that the system isn’t needed. Hopefully Mazda and Nissan won’t use their brake override systems as marketing ploys to try to scare customers away from Toyota. Not that Toyota deserves compassion right now, but fear mongering in advertisement just feels cheap.

Potential new ad campaign: Zoom Zoom, But Only When You Want It, And Not When The Brake Pedal Is Pressed.