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The Great Tire Debate, Part III - Page 2

© Maggie Herman

Additionally, Cooper is the named defendant in a wrongful death and personal injury suit filed in Georgia in which a Ford II Bronco equipped with Cooper tires experienced a blowout. The vehicle flipped over twice, killing two of the occupants and injuring the others. Allegedly, the tire failed when the tread separated from the radial belt. Plaintiffs claimed that manufacturing defects at one of Cooper’s plants caused similar failures in several other vehicles. Crosby v. Cooper Tire & Rubber Co., No. S00G0490 (Ga. Feb. 16, 2001).

Finally, Goodyear is at the center of a legal battle and a NHTSA investigation involving its Load Range E tires. In 1996, a U.S. Air Force vehicle—a GMC Suburban equipped with Goodyear Wrangler all-terrain Load Range E tires—experienced a tire blowout that caused the SUV to roll over. The event killed three occupants and ejected one of the three survivors. In a suit against the manufacturer, plaintiffs alleged that a defect in the tire caused the incident, citing five similar tire failures involving the Load Range E equipped on other U.S. Air Force Suburbans in the months preceding the incident. Frankl v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., No. MER-L-003052-99 (N.J., Mercer County Super. Ct. Nov. 1, 2000).

The NHTSA investigation covers various Load Range E tires used primarily on pickup trucks, SUVs, and vans, including those manufactured by Ford and DaimlerChrysler. The tires are the subject of 31 accidents, 15 deaths, and 129 injuries. The tires involved include Goodyear brand Wrangler AT, Wrangler HT, and All-Season Workhorse tires; and Kelly-Springfield brand Power King and Trailbuster tires.

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