NHTSA, Public Citizen make recommendations on SUVs

WASHINGTON (June 16)—The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is proposing initiatives to mitigate safety problems associated with sport-utility vehicles, according to two reports issued by the agency. The reports, on vehicle compatibility and rollover mitigation, concentrated heavily on safety problems associated with SUVs. Consumer group Public Citizen made its own recommendations on SUVs a few days earlier, calling on Congress to demand rollover crashworthiness and stability protections and a more stringent fuel economy standard for the vehicles. "I'm not sure how much our engineering people have even looked at this stuff," said a spokesman for Bridgestone/Firestone, which made an unsuccessful attempt to get NHTSA to begin a safety investigation of the Ford Explorer. "It's better to ask vehicle manufacturers about the NHTSA reports. We are doing everything we can to inform people about proper tire care. The heavier your vehicle is, the more important it is to take care of your tires and maintain proper tire inflation pressures."