United kingdom motorcycle company fined $2.9M for failing woefully to statement safety defects

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is fining Uk motorcycle manufacturer Triumph $2.9 million for allegedly failing woefully to report safety defects on vehicles bought from the U.S. to federal government regulators.

The agency said the company failed to properly notify officials about 1, 300 recalled motorcycles that were found to have faulty steering mechanisms in September 2014.

The agency said the business didn't report the pace of completed repairs and offer copies of service bulletins that were supposed to be submitted to owners of the vehicles.

Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said the fine, which is the latest in a string of large penalties doled out with regards to recalls, is an indicator of the Obama administration's dedication to U.S. road safety.
“Manufacturers must comply with their reporting commitments. The statutory regulation requires it, and public security needs it,” Foxx said in a statement. “When companies neglect to meet those responsibilities, we will hold them responsible.”

The Obama administration has been looking to crack down on vehicle manufacturers lately after coming under fire for its oversight following widespread recalls at General Motors and Takata in 2014 that involved parts found to be defective years back.

Lawmakers first took the highway basic safety agency to task last spring because of its handling of recalls at General Motors that affected about 2 million vehicles. NHTSA officials were accused of failing woefully to notice the trend of accidents regarding GM's faulty ignition switches for quite some time before issuing the recall in February.

The highway safety agency faced criticism again this year more than a recall involving faulty air bags made by Japan auto parts manufacturer Takata. Takata initially claimed the faulty airbags affected about 8 million cars, but the recall was later extended to add 34 million cars.

The agency said Mon that Triumph has decided to pay $1.4 million in penalties for the recall failures and spend an $500,000 on safety improvements. The business would be accountable for another $1 million in fines if it violates the conditions of the contract.

NHTSA Administrator Mark Rosekind touted the settlement as a sign that regulators are more vigilantly watching auto and motorcycle companies than they had been in days gone by.

"Today’s enforcement action penalizes history violations, and it promotes the proactive basic safety culture manufacturers must adopt if they are to reduce protection defects and identify them quicker than they occur,” he said.