Honda hit with record $70M fine

In a sharp escalation of penalties against automakers that skirt safety laws, the nation’s top auto safety agency has fined Honda Motor a record $70 million for grossly underreporting fatal accidents and injuries to the government, regulators said on Thursday.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's ruling doubles the fine levied against General Motors last year as the agency looks to recover from being slow to identify problems and failing to use the full extent of its legal powers, according to the New York Times.

According to the administration, Honda failed to report hundreds of death and injury claims to the agency for the last 11 years and also failed to report certain warranty and other claims.

Read more from the New York Times.