British isles motorcycle company fined $2.9M for failing woefully to report safety defects

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

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

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

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

The National government has been wanting 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 ago.

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 mil vehicles. NHTSA officials were accused of failing woefully to notice the trend of accidents including GM's faulty ignition switches for quite some time before issuing the recall in February.

The highway safety agency faced criticism again this season over a recall involving faulty air bags created by Japanese auto parts manufacturer Takata. Takata at first claimed the faulty airbags affected about 8 million cars, but the recall was later extended to add 34 million cars.

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

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

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