Accident Reconstruction Network > News > April 2005 > 04/01/05

Accident Reconstruction News Article

Isuzu Admits Illegally Testing Vehicles
By Kozo Mizoguchi, Associated Press Writer
Japanese Truckmaker Isuzu Admits Illegally Testing Vehicles on Public Roads for Years

TOKYO (AP) -- Isuzu Motors Ltd., a truckmaker allied with General Motors Corp., said Friday it had illegally tested its vehicles on public roads for years, and said vehicles being tested were involved in accidents that caused one death and 27 injuries.

Izuzu President Yoshinori Ida and 14 other top executives had accepted responsibility for the emerging scandal by taking pay cuts of up to 30 percent for two months, company spokesman Naruhito Furuta said.

Meanwhile, police said they had launched an investigation into Isuzu for possible breaches of Japanese laws requiring automakers to get permission from the government to test their trucks on public roads. Violators face fine of up to 300,000 yen ($2,800).

Furuta said the Tokyo-based truckmaker, which is 10 percent owned by Detroit-based GM, had conducted vehicle tests on public roads since the late 1960s without reporting them to the authorities.

The tests involved Isuzu sending out prototypes to see how far and how fast they could run. Furuta said the company did not realize it needed to obtain permission for the test drives.

He said at least 104 accidents involving test vehicles had been reported since 1985.

In one case in 1990, an Isuzu vehicle was involved in a pileup in which the driver of another vehicle was killed, Furuta said. Of the collisions, 27 resulted in injuries, three of them to the driver in the Isuzu vehicle.

The accidents were all caused by human error such as speeding and not defects to the vehicles, so the company did not believe it was responsible for causing any of the accidents, he said.

Kanagawa Prefectural police are investigating Isuzu, police spokesman Hideki Ogura said.

Isuzu sent an apology to the Infrastructure and Transport Minister on Thursday, in which it promised illegal testing would never happen again.

Isuzu shares slipped a fraction to close at 283 yen ($2.60) on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Friday.

Isuzu's troubles come as another Japanese automaker is embroiled in a scandal.

Mitsubishi Motors Corp. and Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corp. have both seen their sales plunge in recent years over an auto defect cover-up scandal. Five years ago, Mitsubishi Motors acknowledged it had systematically concealed defects for decades.

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