Civil Penalty Factors

This final rule provides NHTSA's interpretation of the civil penalty factors for determining the amount of a civil penalty or the amount of a compromise under the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act (Safety Act). The Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21) states that the Secretary of Transportation shall determine the amount of civil penalty or compromise under the Safety Act. MAP-21 identifies mandatory factors that the Secretary must consider and discretionary factors for the Secretary to consider as appropriate in making such determinations. MAP-21 directs NHTSA to issue a rule providing an interpretation of these penalty factors. This final rule also amends NHTSA's regulation to the increase penalties and damages for odometer fraud, and to include the statutory penalty for knowingly and willfully submitting materially false or misleading information to the Secretary after certifying the same information as accurate. In the NPRM, we proposed administrative procedures for NHTSA to follow when assessing civil penalties against persons who violate the Safety Act. We are not including those procedures in this final rule. Instead, NHTSA plans to address those procedures separately, in a rule to be issued soon.