General Motors has refused to voluntarily recall and retrofit its pickup trucks with saddlebag gas tanks, even though its own internal records and testing experience in other models, and in proto-types, show that it has long mastered the engineering technology to enhance the safety of the gas tanks on these trucks. Under the settlement of […]
Car / Truck / Motorcycle / SUV Accidents
Gas Tank Fires: The $4.9 Billion Verdict Against General Motors for the Explosion of a 1979 Chevrolet Malibu
On July 9, 1999, a Los Angeles jury awarded $4.9 billion to six people burned in a rear end collision when the gas tank in their 1979 Chevrolet Malibu, located merely 11 inches from the rear of the car, gushed into an inferno. Testimony in that case showed that it would have cost General Motors […]
Defective Firestone and Bridgestone Tires on Ford Explorers and other SUVs
Firestone tires, models ATX, ATXII and Wilderness, manufactured by Bridgestone/Firestone are subject to tread separations, primarily and particularly those tires sold on Ford Explorers. Some tires have separated that have been in use for less than 2,000 miles and have demonstrated failures at speeds as low as 20 miles per hour, indicating a major flaw […]
Buckle Up The Back Seat
Seatbelt usage across the U.S. averages 66% in the front seat, but rear seat passengers use safety belts only one-third of the time according to the Air Bag Safety Campaign. Ironically, the rear seat offers the highest level of safety in a crash and the most protection, but only if passengers are wearing a lap […]
All Terrain Vehicles: Deaths and Injuries to Children
According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s latest estimates, from December 30, 1987 to the end of 1991, there were more than 1033 deaths and 224,500 injuries from all ATVs. Almost 40% of the victims have been, and will continue to be, children under 16. During this period approximately 415 children died and 90,000 were […]
