Transportation Secretary Wants To Increase The Max Fine On Untimelyness

I am all for holding companies accountable, but it has to be within reason and it seems there is more positioning for reelection going on than common sense by the Idiots in DC.

I think it needs to be made painful without making it too painful to develop cars in the first place. If they design something, find a flaw later, and immediately recall, they won't face the fine. But if they wait years and years, or publicly stall like Toyota did, then the fine should be very very painful for the company.... so painful that they have an incentive to not stall.

>>"primary focus is to fund"<<

Egg-zactly; it a revenue tool, not a recall delay deterrent. Just like nearly everything done by Big Gov't.

I don't see these things as mutually exclusive

Don't have to be, question is; which is the true concept behind it?

We know what the spin is, but....

What is another recall deterrent that you would suggest? Ideally, if the manufacturers do their jobs, the DoT wouldn't see a penny from these fines.

First off, jumping a fine by a factor of TEN is ridiculous, but because they can & NO ONE can stop them, why not make it a factor of 50?

Secondly, I'd be much more willing to believe the cover story if the money went to something like, say, a victim's fund or medical costs, etc, rather than yet another slush fund Big Gov't can swipe from at will. Because you know that's what will happen if the check is made out to the DOT. It just smells bad (as usual).

Frankly, recall promptness should be a culture of business. This has to come from the people in positions of authority & policy in said corporations, in addition to company policy. Forcing it will only get it tied up in legal for a decade or so.

All fines should go into the Roads Period, not into the general fund.

The fine is "up to"... not a minimum. From the article: Toyota got wacked 3 times for their delays at a time when the maximum fine was $17.5 million, so that was still only $66 million for something that I've already shown was shear negligence.

Frankly, recall promptness should be a culture of business. This has to come from the people in positions of authority & policy in said corporations, in addition to company policy. Forcing it will only get it tied up in legal for a decade or so.

It isn't though..the natural tendency for business is to hide things under the rug and cover it up. Without regulation and enforcement, recalls and recall promptness won't happen.

There has been a culture, particularly at GM and Toyota it seems, for lower employees to be incentive to not blow the whistle. This is backwards.

There has been a culture, particularly at GM and Toyota it seems, for lower employees to be incentive to not blow the whistle. This is backwards.

That's pretty much standard culture in most businesses I've been in...don't rock the boat, don't say anything that will draw attention to yourself and potentially embarrass management if you value your career...that's just the way it is.