Bad Tires Create Safety Problems Essay, Research Paper

Bad Tires Create Safety Problem for the Public

Firestone produced a line of tires that have been responsible for deaths and injuries throughout the United States. The faulty tires are known to experience tread separation, which causes the tire to blow out. Evan though there is an ongoing recall, the number of accidents continues to rise. Since the recalled tires are most commonly found on Ford vehicles, there is an attempt to draw Ford into the blame. The problem at hand is that there are faulty tires on the roadways, and innocent people are dying.

The Firestone tire recall is perhaps the most deadly auto safety crisis in American History. As of September 20, 2000 the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported 103 deaths due to crashes. Also they included more than 400 injuries, and 2,226 complaints from consumers. Most of the fatalities are linked to accidents caused when 15-inch ATX and Wilderness tires mounted on Ford Explorers experienced tread separation, usually in hot weather. Bridgestone/Firestone Inc. has recalled 6.5 million of those tires, and the NHTSA has issued a consumer advisory covering an additional 1.4 million Firestone tires.

On August 9 of this year, Firestone, owned by Japan?s Bridgestone Corporation, began recalling 6.5 million tires made up of a certain 15-inch models of its ATX and Wilderness AT tires in response to a federal probe that began in May. The majority of the recalled tires were fitted over a decade to Ford motor company?s best selling sport utility vehicle, the Explorer. Firestone claims that the unique design of the 235/75R15 Wilderness AT tire, in combination with variations in the manufacturing process at its Deatur, Illinois, plant may have produced some of the problems.

At the Senate hearing, Ford and Firestone again blamed each other for the problem, which has strained an automotive partnership that goes back 100 years. A Reuters Zogby poll released last week showed that three out of five people surveyed in the United States blamed Firestone for the controversy, while only one in fifteen blamed Ford. Ford President Jaques Nasser said, ? Every time Ford went to Firestone with problems that foreign customers reported, the tiremaker insisted there were no tire defects either overseas or in the United States.?

The issue is not a matter of blame but a matter of safety. I was personally involved with the tire recall since the Ford Explorer I purchased had faulty tires. Even though it was an inconvenience, I took advantage of the opportunity of having new tires installed at Firestone?s expense. Although there have been many deaths and injuries due to these tires, it is the responsibility of the vehicle owners to have their tires checked and replaced by Firestone. Those who ignore the problem may cause the number of tragedies to rise.