Honda fined a record $70 million for violations of safety law

In an announcement which underscores that the US safety regulators have sharply escalated the penalties against automakers that violate safety laws, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has slapped a whopping $70 million fine on Honda Motor for circumventing safety laws.

Announcing the fine on Thursday, the NHTSA said that the record $70 million penalty has been levied on Honda for grossly underreporting fatal accidents and injuries - involving Honda vehicles - to the government.

According to the details shared by the NHTSA officials, Honda allegedly violated safety laws in two ways --- it failed to report hundreds of death and injury claims to the safety agency for the last 11 years; and it also failed to report certain warranty and other claims during the same period. Each of the two violations by Honda has earned the automaker the maximum penalty of $35 million.

The violations by Honda are chiefly related to the 'Early Warning Reporting' system, which requires automakers to disclose claims they receive which blame defects in a vehicle for serious injuries or deaths.

About the fine slapped on Honda by the NHTSA, the agency's new head Mark Rosekind said in a Thursday statement: "Today's announcement sends a very clear message to the entire industry that manufacturers have responsibility for the complete and timely reporting of this critical safety information."