that problems would occur. I noticed several years ago that the industry was putting P 205-75 15 tires on VANS. This is outrageous. A person could put 8 people plus cargo in one of these such as the Ford minivan, Astro etc and this could easily be 1500 pounds or more plus the vehicle weight which is close to exceeding the load limit of the tires. A similar problem occurred on the SUVs. The P 235-70 15 where the problem was first identified has a relatively low load limit of something like 1860 pounds which is not much of a safety margin when the 5000 pound vehicle is loaded. Then we find out that some of the tires were rated C for temperature which is the worst rating. Then the manufacturer (Ford) recommends a tire pressure of 26 pounds so the SUV (Explorer) is less likely to roll over. The lower tire pressure means the tires will run hotter. Then the driver drives 75 miles per hour on open Interstate Highways in south Texas or Florida when the air temperature is 100 degrees and the pavement in the sun is 140 degrees or more and everyone wonders why the tread separated from the tires. Give me a break. What a bunch of morons. Was anyone awake? Nobody noticed that this combination could cause problems? First it was Firestone. Then it was Continental and Cooper and then who else? If these tire failures started to get more frequent 5 years ago, why didn't someone notice and quietly make changes if they were not willing to do a recall. Higher tire pressure, larger tires, a better temperature rating, more warnings on load limits, a better accident reporting system etc. etc. etc. Perhaps the person investigating the accident, the insurance claims adjuster or someone would notice that the tread on the tire was gone and the bottom of the tire looked like an innertube. State Farm Insurance tried to report the problem and was ignored. Where were the safety officials? Ford marketed a $30- 40,000 vehicle and was too cheap to spend another $100 per vehicle or less for better tires. This is an outrage. There is plenty of blame to go around. It is sad that over 70 people had to die before the problem was fixed. All these high paid officials didn't think that this problem would eventually come to light? Many people should be fired over this fiasco. How many other disasters are lurking out there? Is this partly driver error? I had a rear tire blow out on a fully loaded large van several years ago going about 65 on the Interstate and it was a fully controlled stop and did not even change lanes during the slowdown so it can be done. That was an instant flat tire with no warning and no loss of control.

-- Tom (Tom@notstupid.gom), October 04, 2000

Answers

COMET INSURANCE for people who think the Sun circles the Earth every day.

-- King of Spain (madrid@aol.cum), October 05, 2000.

Tom, I agree that this is an outrage. Unfortunately, the motives of regulatory agencies almost invariably drift toward those of the industries they are supposedly regulating.

-- David L (bumpkin@dnet.net), October 05, 2000.

This is also an issue of personal responsibility here. When did you last check the pressure in your vehicle's tires? What is the temperature rating on those tires? When you purchased the vehicle were the tire ratings a priority? Did you swap them out for better quality tires if necessary?

I take my tires for granted, especially my spare tire. I do my best to keep IT inflated, though. Anybody taste Edy's latest high butterfat ice cream?

-- Bingo1 (howe9@shentel.net), October 05, 2000.