Ray LaHood: U.S. had to force Toyota into safety recall

United States Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said today that the recent Toyota recalls come by way of an “˜enormous effort,’ and that federal regulators are not done with their investigations.

“Since questions were first raised about possible safety defects, we have been pushing Toyota to take measures to protect consumers,” LaHood said in a statement. “While Toyota is taking responsible action now, it unfortunately took an enormous effort to get to this point.”

LaHood mentioned that had it not been for the governments urging, Toyota would not have issued the recall. Toyota is set to testify before Congress on two separate dates; Feb. 10 and Feb. 25.

Toyota has apparently had knowledge of the faulty accelerator pedal assemblies as early as March of 2007, and under went two redesigns before the recall. Toyota”s recall in November concerning floor mats trapping accelerator pedals against the floor also came only by way of the government urging them to do so. Safety advocates claim that the recent Toyota defects are linked to a minimum of 19 deaths.

– By: Stephen Calogera

Source: Free Press