Fatal Crash Leads to Lawsuit against Tire and Car Manufacturers

By Richard Seward

Published on January 29, 2007

The suit has been brought by surviving family members against Uniroyal, the tire manufacturer, and General Motors, the maker of the van. During a trip from New Jersey to Florida, the unnamed driver of the van replaced the rear right tire with the unused spare. Subsequently, the tread was said to have separated from the steel belt while in transit. When this occurred, the van went out of control, rolling several times on the Interstate.

Survivors claim that a warning placed on the tire or in the van's manual would have warned of the dangers of using a tire beyond its period of expiration. The goal of the lawsuit is to encourage automobile and tire manufacturers to provide appropriate warning labels that display the tires expiration date and address the potential risks involved with using tires that are outdated.

The attorney for the victims cites the fact that BMW, Nissan, and Audi all provide warnings on automobiles in Europe, and claims that it would be just as easy for G.M. to do the same on its cars in the U.S.

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