WASHINGTON (June 22) — A safety consulting group with close ties to trial lawyers wants the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to examine the effectiveness of a massive tire recall in 2000.
Safety Research & Strategies Inc. of Rehoboth, Mass., claimed in a letter to NHTSA that recalled tires still are causing death and injuries. The group wants the agency to study the recall of 6.5 million Firestone ATX and Wilderness AT tires in August 2000. Bridgestone/Firestone and Ford Motor Co. recalled the tires that were original equipment on Ford Explorers and other Ford SUVs after tread separation accidents caused 271 highway deaths.
SRS claims recalled tires, particularly spares, "are likely to be put into service in the future with equally devastating results."
A BFS spokeswoman said a review of the recall is unnecesary, and the company retried 6.3 milion of the estimated tire that were still in service.
"We´re very proud of the efforts we made," she said. "But no recall is 100-percent effective, and NHTSA will tell you the same thing."