Thursday, Jul. 02, 2009
Tires, Treads and Tragedy
In 2000, Bridgestone/Firestone Inc. recalled 6.5 million Firestone tires involved in one of the most dangerous product faults in automobile history — a tendency for tire failure that caused nearly 175 deaths and more than 700 injuries. The treads on certain Firestone tire models would peel off, causing them to blow out — which could cause certain cars and SUVs like the Ford Explorer to roll over. Later that year, Firestone competitor Goodyear had its own tire troubles: tread separations in certain light trucks were linked to about 120 injuries and 15 deaths.