NHTSA ups BFS death count; tire maker publishes recall ad

WASHINGTON (Aug. 16)—There are now 779 accidents involving 62 deaths and 100 injuries involving Firestone ATX, ATX II and Wilderness tires on file at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, according to agency officials. Fifty-seven of the deaths involved Firestone tires mounted on Ford Explorers, and all but five occurred in rollover accidents, NHTSA said. Meanwhile, Bridgestone/Firestone Inc. published a full-page ad in 41 newspapers. The ad instructs consumers on how to tell if their Firestone tires are involved in the 6.5-million-tire recall the company announced Aug. 9, and explains its exchange and reimbursement policies under the recall. Bridgestone/Firestone will replace all P235/75R15 tires in the ATX and ATX II lines, as well as Wilderness AT tires of that size that were made in the company´s Decatur, Ill., plant, free of charge. It also will reimburse customers who bought new Firestone tires at prorated adjustments between Jan. 1 and Aug. 8, 2000, and reimburse motorists who replaced Firestone tires with competitors´ tires during the same period at up to $100 per tire.