Attorneys of Record for
Tires

Taras Kick
The Kick Law Firm
660 South Figeroa Street
Suite 1800
Los Angeles, CA 90017
213-624-1588
217-624-1589 fax
taras@kicklawfirm.com
kicklawfirm.com

C. Tab Turner
Turner & Associates, PA
4705 Somers Avenue, Suite 100
North Little Rock, AR 72116
501-791-2277
501-791-1251 fax
tab@tturner.com
tturner.com

The Act That Treads Lightly

On November 1, President Clinton signed the "Tread Act" which requires automakers and suppliers to notify the government about potential safety defects as soon as they are identified.  Touted to be the "the biggest vehicle safety act since the 1970's," the new law may be untenable in practice. 

The Transportation Recall Enhancement, Accountability and Documentation Act, was introduced September 13 and passed Congress in less than a month.  The fury was fueled by congressional hearing revelations, in early fall, that the August 9 recall of shredding tires came after having known about the problem for a decade.  Firestone, a unit of Japan's Bridgestone Corporation and Ford Motor Company jointly announced the recall of ATX, ATX II and some Wilderness AT tires linked to more than 200 deaths in the U.S. and abroad. 

Under the bill, automotive industry executives could face up to 15 years in prison for hiding information on defects that lead to deaths or serious injuries.  Maximum fines for companies will increase from $925,000 to $15 million.  However, the bill makes it very difficult to determine if actions by Ford or Firestone would have set off these provisions.  So far, Congress can only establish that the data was there and officials should have made the links.   

The law requires car and tire companies to report to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) when they recall products abroad due to a safety defect.  Again, the bill leaves ample room for ambiguity in the case of Ford's "service actions" and "Customer Satisfaction Initiative" in Venezuela and Saudi Arabia, respectively.  The same model tires were replaced as early as Fall 1999 in these countries. 

"The law does not require manufacturers to evaluate data on their vehicles to determine safety defects," says Ralph Hoar, referring to Ford and Firestone's assertion that tire failure data they collected three years prior to the August recall was used to determine how the problem would affect sales and not to study tire performance.   Hoar is director of Safetyforum.com, an Internet service that promotes automobile and product safety.   "I predict that not a single auto executive will serve time under this law based on how its written," Hoar said. 

"The act responds directly to some of the key shortcomings in identifying the recent Firestone tire problem," Clinton said, referring to the faulty tires.  "Some of the deaths and injuries associated with these tires might have been prevented if automobile manufacturers and their suppliers had been required to provide the government with more  timely information," the president said. 

The law requires manufacturers to report data on warranty service and legal claims without prompting from the NHTSA.  It also makes provisions for additional monies for the government agency to boost its ability to interpret data.  Then again, the law entrusts critical interpretation and spotting defective trends to an agency that has a poor record of doing so.  The NHTSA failed to interpret its own accident data, which could have exposed the Explorer problem before the death toll surpassed the 100th mark. 

While vagueness seem to be built into the bill to satisfy industry supporters, some aspects of the law deserve merit.  Phased in within two years, government agencies must begin rollover testing of vehicles.  The auto industry have resisted this type of scrutiny for years. Testing could highlight a rollover propensity which would cut profits.   

The Firestone tires in question come standard on Ford Explorers, sport utility vehicles and some light trucks.  Tests have shown that because of their higher centers of gravity, the Explorer roll over more often than sedans.  Most of the fatal Firestone accidents involved rollovers of the Explorer. 

Within two years, the bill requires test standards for tires to be upgraded.  The current standard is 30 years old.  Within three years, all new vehicles will have indicators to warn of under-inflated tires.