Aging and Defective Tires Pose Significant Risks to Consumers
More and more deaths and injuries are being caused by old tires that are being sold as new in major retail outlets, according to an investigative report by WMC-TV in Memphis, Tennessee. Two lawsuits were filed recently in that state and both involve an August 2007 SUV rollover accident in Arkansas.
Teresa Taylor was driving her 1997 Mercury Mountaineer westbound on Interstate 40 near West Memphis when the tread on her rear driver’s side tire, which she had purchased from a Sears Auto Center just a year ago, peeled off. Taylor lost control of her sport utility vehicle, which skidded across the median and rolled over. This tragic accident killed Teresa Taylor’s 15-year-old cousin, Tevin Pettis, who was a passenger in her vehicle. Investigators found that the tire had a U.S. Department of Transportation code: 2102, which meant that the tire in question was four years old when it was sold as “new” to Taylor.
What do these codes mean? The first two numbers denote the week the tire was made and the last two numbers denote the year. Officials are now saying that it is very important consumers take a hard look at these numbers that are usually etched on every tire. But sometimes, it’s not that simple since the number is etched on the inside wall of the tire. So if the tire is already on a vehicle, a consumer would have to get under the car to inspect the code.
The danger of aging tires was particularly highlighted in a study by Massachusetts-based Safety Research & Strategies Inc. The results document 159 accidents since 1992 involving tire tread separation – 128 deaths and 168 injuries. Every one of those accidents involved a tire that was six years old or older. Although the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recognizes that tire age degradation presents a hazard, the public is still at risk and in danger because they have little or no information about this “invisible danger.” Outreach to consumers from tire companies or the NHTSA has been non-existent on this important issue.
Aging tires quickly turn defective when they sit on store shelves for years. They could dry out and crack, especially in regions with warmer weather such as California and Florida. Tire tread separation accidents are deadly and almost always result in catastrophic injuries or death because the driver, however experienced he or she may be, has little chance of gaining control of the vehicle once a tire fails. Tire failures often result in rollover accidents, which claim more than 10,000 lives each year. For more information about tire safety, please visit the Rubber Manufacturers Association’s Web site. If you or someone you love has been injured as a result of defective or aging tires, I’d like to hear about it.
