Multiple Causes Of Accidents Cited By Bridgestone/Firestone

Bridgestone/Firestone has issued the results of its four month investigation into the accidents in the USA involving certain Firestone tyres. A number of causes were identified, including unspecified manufacturing problems at Decatur, tyre design in the shoulder area, driver abuse (travelling too fast and at the wrong pressure) and the weight of the Ford Explorer vehicle, particularly an alleged uneven weight distribution on the back axle. Ford denies that the margin for error between the load capacity of the tyres and the weight of a fully-laden Explorer is too slim.