Honda slapped with huge $70 million fine in the US

Honda may not have seen this coming in their New Year plan, but bad news is what the company started their year with. Honda has been  slapped with  a $70 million fine for not disclosing safety complaints. It is also the largest US Civil Penalty levied  against an automaker.

Among the matters related to airbag recall, the Japanese carmaker now has to deal with the legal problems as well. Automakers are required under the TREAD Act to disclose serious complaints to federal regulators. Honda acknowledged in November that it failed to report to the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) 1,729 complaints dating back to 2003 that its vehicles caused deaths and injuries. Honda admits it was aware of the failing in 2011 but didn’t comply until late last year. The company is not disputing the penalty.

The complaints against Japan’s second-largest automaker involve defective parts, especially air bag inflators made by Takata Corp. Honda issued recalls covering more than 5 million of its vehicles in the US last year to fix the problem. 

While this does not affect the Indian car market or Honda’s work in the country. It is heartening to see that America takes road and passenger safety with such seriousness. India, who is planning on implementing new road and safety norms for the industry could probably learn a thing or two from this episode.

Source: Huffington Post