Page 56 - KPA 27 JULY 2015

Tour de France:
Police fire at
car in Paris
square ahead
of race
POLICE in France are searching for the driver of a vehicle that
tried to crash through a security barrier for the Tour de France,
which ends in Paris later.
The incident took place on the Champs-Elysees at about 08:00
local time, as the barriers were being put out.
Officers opened fire on the car but the suspect drove away. The
car was later found abandoned nearby. There is no suggestion of
terrorism as a motive, according to a source. It was reported that pany with the financial penalty and assign an independent monitor to audit the company’s
the car first hit a parked vehicle in the Place de la Concorde.
The driver then tried to pass through a police cordon that was
being put in place ahead of the final stage of the tour.
There was no exchange of fire and our correspondent suggests
the driver could have been a reveller returning from a night out.
Two men and two women were reported to have been seen leav-
ing the bullet-riddled car. Tour de France race director Thierry
Gouvenou said he did not foresee any impact on the race, which
British cyclist Chris Froome is set to win.
Security in the French capital was heightened in the wake of the
jihadist attacks on Charlie Hebdo magazine and elsewhere which
killed 17 people.
16 INTERNATIONAL
Fiat Chrysler Faces Record $105
Million Fine for Recall Lapses
NHTSA action covers nearly two dozen recalls
affecting more than 11 million vehicles
A burnt-out Jeep Grand Cherokee in 2012, where a 4-year-old boy
was killed when the car exploded into flames after being rear-ended.
FEDERAL regulators are close to hitting Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV with a record
$105 million fine for recall lapses covering millions of vehicles, adding to mounting scru-
tiny of the auto maker’s safety practices.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is expected slap the Italian-U.S. com-
recall processes for an extended period as part of a sweeping settlement. In some cases,
the auto maker will agree to repurchase recalled vehicles.
Fiat Chrysler is expected to sign a consent order agreeing to the penalties, which could
be unveiled as soon as Monday. Fiat Chrysler will have an opportunity to recoup some of
the financial penalty if it meets certain conditions.
The government penalties target lapses spanning nearly two dozen recalls affecting more
than 11 million Fiat Chrysler vehicles, including older Jeeps with rear gasoline tanks linked
to numerous fatal fires.
The fines are tied to legal violations in an array of areas, including misleading and ob-
structing regulators; inadequate and lagging repairs; and failing to alert car owners to
recalls in a timely manner. The financial penalties aren’t tied to specific recalls, they said.
With 1.56 million recalled Jeeps linked to deadly fires, the agency has accused Fiat Chrys-
ler of lagging in installing trailer hitches on the backs of vehicles for added protection in
lower-speed collisions. Fiat Chrysler has said vehicle owners are often unwilling to get
repairs despite many outreaches from the company.
Under terms of the settlement with regulators, Fiat Chrysler is expected to start offering
cash to Jeep owners to encourage them to go to dealerships for repairs or additional money
on top of the value of their vehicle if they decide to trade it in.
The Jeep Grand Cherokee and Liberty sport-utility vehicles covered under the recall have
model years ranging from 1993 to 2007.
Fiat Chrysler’s executive in charge of vehicle safety and regulatory compliance earlier this
month outlined measures the company has taken to improve its handling of safety prob-
lems and said the auto maker could have handled recalls better and that NHTSA officials
raised legitimate concerns.
The government penalties come days after regulators separately started probing Fiat
Chrysler’s handling of recalled vehicles with possible cyber security flaws, after hackers
commandeered controls of a moving Jeep.
Those vehicles aren’t included in the settlement expected to be disclosed in the coming
week.
Monday, July 27 2015 - ARUBA TRAVELLER