Are NHTSA recall fines serving their purpose?

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has announced that it is fining Honda a total of US$70m in two separate penalties for grossly underreporting fatal accidents and injuries to the government, a fine that presents a new record for the regulator.

Following 2014, which became known as the year of recalls, with many NHTSA fines presented to OEMs that failed to present recalls to the agency in a timely manner, the new head of the safety agency, Mark Rosekind, has sent a clear message to OEMs that 2015 marks a fresh start for automotive safety.