« TOYOTA TUNDRA AIRBAG SWITCHES BEING DEACTIVATED | Main | EU GROUP DEVELOPING CRASH MONITORING CRITERIA »
July 13, 2006
DEATHS CITED IN DEMAND FOR EXPLORER TIRE RECALL
The Detroit News reports that Safety Research and Strategies Inc., a Massachusetts-based consulting group, has told NHTSA that at least five severe accidents have been caused by recalled Firestone tires that remained on Explorers, resulting in two fatalities. "Because of the millions of tires affected, even a small fraction of these uncaptured tires put into service poses an acute hazard and represents an enormous potential for human loss," Sean Kane, who heads to group, wrote.
Widely-publicized recalls of the tires in 2000 and 2001 were sparked by a spate of rollover accidents that killed an estimated 270 people. An initial request by Kane's group on June 21 prompted NHTSA to begin a high-level review of the issue to determine the extent to which the problem continues. The Detroit News article suggests that spare tires that were not turned in during the earlier recalls and have since been mounted on Explorers may be contributing to current crashes and injuries.
Posted by MVHAP at July 13, 2006 03:14 PM