Submitted by Aiken Jacobsen on
It seems that the case against Toyota has finally been settled and the results are in. Last week the US DOT Secretary Ray LaHood announced that Toyota has agreed to pay the maximum amount in fines resulting from its handling of recalls. These were the recalls related to dangerous floor mats and sticky accelerator pedals, both of which caused unintended acceleration problems. This unintended acceleration was responsible for a significant number of car accidents over the last two years.
Toyota has already paid $48.8 million in fines so far. Now the company has been fined an additional $32.4 million in penalties for its failure to report known safety problems to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. This brings Toyota's total fines to $81.2 million. This is in addition to the cost of the eventual recalls.
California readers will likely remember the 2009 death of an off-duty California Highway Patrol officer. He and his family died in a car crash that occurred when the car's accelerator pedal got caught under the faulty floor mats. The investigation into the accident prompted the recall of those floor mats and launched a larger investigation against Toyota.
Secretary LaHood has credited Toyota for its recent compliance in agreeing to pay the maximum penalties allowed by law. Although the investigation is not officially closed, the National Highway Safety Traffic Safety Administration has not discovered any more safety issues in Toyota vehicles. No more charges are expected at this time.
The outcome of this investigation marks a victory for consumers everywhere. When a major car company fails to report serious safety problems they must be held liable for the consequences.
Source: USA Today online, "Toyota fined another $32 million for safety reporting lapses," 20 December 2010
