Toyota’s Unintended-Acceleration Criminal Charge Dismissed
The automaker completed its three-year monitoring period in August, fulfilling obligations outlined in a $1.2 billion settlement with the federal government.

Toyota Motor North America's headquarters in Plano, Texas. Photo courtesy of Toyota.

Toyota Motor North America's headquarters in Plano, Texas. Photo courtesy of Toyota.
At the request of the U.S. Justice Department, a federal district judge has dismissed a criminal charge against Toyota arising from allegations that the automaker misled the public about unintended acceleration problems in 2009 and 2010, Reuters reported.
U.S. District Judge William Paul in New York dismissed the charge on Oct. 5.
The Justice Department filed its dismissal request in August after Toyota completed a three-year period of oversight by an independent monitor. The monitoring period, which concluded on Aug. 7, was spelled out in the company’s $1.2 billion settlement with the federal government.
As part of the deferred-prosecution agreement, Toyota admitted that it “misled U.S. consumers by concealing and making deceptive statements about two safety related issues affecting its vehicles, each of which caused a type of unintended acceleration.”
More Safety

Top 50 Executive Fleets
It is that time of year again! Time for the 2026 list of the Top 50 Executive Fleets, presented by Automotive Fleet and Volvo as part of its annual Fleet 500. Download now to see this year's list of companies!
Read More →How Better Visibility Cut Speeding Violations by 48%
Fleet leaders don't need more data, they need clearer visibility into what the data is saying. This case study explores how one utility replaced speeding-event counts with a single metric — miles driven in violation — to strengthen safety and significantly reduce speeding violations.
Read More →
Operation Safe Driver Week: Why the Industry's Oldest Safety Campaign Still Matters to Fleets
A look at how a 2007 enforcement initiative became one of the most consequential weeks on the fleet safety calendar, and what it means for your drivers in 2026.
Read More →
Nexar-Nauto Merger Aims to Give Fleets Better Safety Intelligence Through Larger Driving Dataset
Stefan Heck tells Automotive Fleet that combining more than 10 billion miles of driving history with Nexar's AI models will give fleets deeper insights into driver risk and roadway conditions than either company could provide independently.
Read More →From Silos to Solutions: Relationship Management for Safer Fleets
From telematics adoption and driver accountability to policy consistency and risk mitigation, this episode breaks down what it really takes to build a safer fleet culture without slowing business down.
Read More →
IIHS Launches First Commercial Vehicle Safety Evaluations
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has begun evaluating heavy-duty pickups and cargo vans for driver protection. Which models earned top marks?
Read More →
Reducing Risk by Eliminating Phone Use Behind the Wheel
Hosted with the cofounder of Lifesaver Mobile, this episode addresses phone use behind the wheel and how to design a driving environment that actually helps prevents accidents.
Read More →
Cameras, Safety and Insurance: From Reactive Claims to Real-Time Prevention (Part 2 of 2)
Part Two: Commercial auto remains one of the most challenging and costly lines of coverage for fleet operators and insurers alike. Continue learning more about how to effectively address these issues from Onur Aksan, Enterprise Business Development Executive, Geotab
Read More →
How 5-Second Telematics Data Is Changing Fleet Safety
This episode connects with Steve Santostasi of Ford Pro and covers how a few seconds of data can make a difference in fleet safety.
Read More →
The Two Biggest Summer Downtime Threats for Fleets
A conversation with a maintenance expert reveals the two most common summer maintenance pains and how to prevent them.
Read More →