LaHood Says U.S. Won’t Rule Out Second Fine on Toyota Recalls

Source: Bloomberg

By Makiko Kitamura and Yuki Hagiwara

May 10 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood declined to dismiss the idea of further fines on Toyota Motor Corp. during a visit to the automaker’s headquarters in Japan.

“We will continue our review of documents presented to us,” LaHood said. “If a fine is required, I think everyone recognizes now that safety is our number-one priority. When we have recommendations to make, we will make them.”

Toyota agreed to pay a record $16.4 million fine levied by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on April 19 for failing to report promptly flaws in vehicle accelerator pedals that led to recalls of more than 8 million vehicles worldwide.

NHTSA is reviewing 500,000 documents, and the review will take time, LaHood said at a briefing today in response to a question about the possibility of a second fine. LaHood visited Toyota’s facilities in Japan and plans also to visit Honda Motor Co. and Nissan Motor Co., he said.


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