Archives : 2009 : April
Riverside County to Launch Educational Campaign to Prevent Train Accidents
Last week, a Riverside County high school student was killed in a train accident when he stepped in front of a Metrolink train on his way to school. The train accident took place at the Jackson Street crossing. Now, officials in Riverside County are making efforts to launch an education campaign to create awareness about train crossing safety for pedestrians.
Currently, Riverside has a crossing guard for elementary schools that fall under the Riverside and Alvord school districts. However, crossing guards are not provided on walking routes to middle and high schools in these districts. After the death of 14-year-old Samuel Sung-Jade Shin of Arlington High School, officials are also looking at having a crossing guard at the site. Safety features at the spot currently include an arm extension which blocks traffic, and swinging gates that have to be opened before you can proceed.
For a while now, there have been calls to create a quiet zone. That could take a while, however. The plan for the quiet zone is expected to be finalized in May. Besides, creating a quiet zone is going to take a heavy financial toll. The cost of enhancing 18 crossings in Riverside County is expected to be $14.3 million. It’s still not clear whether a crossing gate would have prevented Samuel from stepping in front of the Metrolink train. However, just before the train accident occurred, he had stopped for another Metrolink train on the track farthest from him. Even so, officials say they are committed to installing the crossing gates.
The crossing can only be built after they have received approval from state officials. The process of obtaining approvals from federal and state authorities can be long and exhausting. The Federal Railroad Administration will have to give its approval, and the California Public Utilities Commission also has to approve any plans to change the crossings. These agencies have to be provided detailed plans, which can take several months to complete. Besides, the railroads have to be involved before any plans can go ahead. After all approvals have been given, it could still take another 15 months for the crossing to be built. That’s why the county is working on more immediate measures like an awareness campaign, and having a crossing guard at the site to prevent fatal train accidents like the one that killed Samuel Sung-Jade Shin.
Across the San Fernando Valley, both Metrolink and municipal officials are making plans to add pedestrian gates, lights and warning bells at more than 120 crossings.
No matter how many safety devices are installed to prevent train accidents, safety can be compromised when pedestrians try to break or bend rules, or take short cuts. That’s why an education campaign is so important. Pedestrians have to be taught the right ways of crossing at a railroad crossing, and need to be aware of the dangers that they’re placed in when they disobey crossing rules. Any accident with a train is ultimately going to prove fatal or serious only for the pedestrian.
The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of train accidents. Please visit our website at trlglaw.com. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us.
The Reeves Law Group is not acting as legal counsel for any party in the matters discussed in this posting.
Visalia Woman Killed in Teen-Related Car Accident in San Luis Obispo
Teen motorists are at an increased risk for causing car accidents, although these drivers are fewer in number than adult drivers. In one such instance of a teen-related car accident, a Visalia woman was killed in a head on crash with a car driven by a speeding teen motorist.
The woman, 21-year-old Ashleigh Vermillion was in her Honda Civic, when the teen motorist, 19-year-old Masson Blow, lost control of his Volkswagen which was traveling in the opposite direction. Blow’s car crossed into the northbound lane and crashed into the Civic head down. Vermillion was declared dead at the scene of the car crash. The other two passengers in the car, an infant girl Jenna and 30-year-old David Treen Jr. were seriously injured in the car crash. They were airlifted to a hospital in Madera County.
Blow also suffered minor injuries and was taken to the hospital. The California Highway Patrol says that he was speeding at the time of the car crash, and lost control of the vehicle. He has not been arrested, and investigations into the car accident are going on. The CHP will determine later if charges are to be filed in the accident.
Teen motorists are younger and inexperienced drivers. These motorists are at an age where they may be impulsive and prone to recklessness. They are more at risk for indulging in dangerous driving behavior like speeding and drunk driving. Drunk driving in particular is a huge problem with teen drivers. Although teen drunk drivers are fewer in number than adult drivers who drink and drive, teen drivers are at a higher risk of being involved in a fatal drunk driving accident. Across the country, underage drinking is a major problem that law enforcement agencies and university authorities are struggling to deal with. Last year, a group of college deans proposed another approach to the problem of underage drinking. They called for a lowering of the national minimum drinking age which is currently 21. California car accident lawyers and auto safety advocates had opposed any such moves.
Speeding is another serious problem that impacts teen drivers. Drivers at this age are more likely to be reckless and break speed limits. The consequences of a car accident in which one of the motorists was speeding are always serious.
Tackling the problem of reckless driving behavior by teen’s calls for a joint effort by law enforcement officers, parents as well as schools and colleges. This is not a problem that can be dealt with by law enforcement alone. Teen drivers tend to have other challenges when it comes to their driving behavior. For instance, they tend to drive with friends in the car and peer pressure can be tremendous. This can cause them to indulge in speeding, street racing and other dangerous behaviors.
Across the country, communities are making an effort to educate teen motorists and make them more responsible and aware of the consequences of their actions. High schools are conducting initiatives to reduce the incidence of drunk driving and speeding among students. Law enforcement agencies in California too have been proactive in conducting awareness campaigns for teens in an effort to keep the car accident rate involving these motorists down.
The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of car accidents. Please visit our website at trlglaw.com. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us.
The Reeves Law Group is not acting as legal counsel for any party in the matters discussed in this posting.
Redwood City Man Sentenced in Fatal Car Accident
A 47-year-old man who caused a car accident killing an 8-year-old child has been sentenced to seven years in prison. Richard Tom was convicted in October of charges including vehicular manslaughter, for causing the accident that killed Sydney Ng in February 2007.
The car accident injured Sydney’s mother and sister who were traveling in the car with her. Tom had been driving intoxicated when he broadsided the car carrying the Ng family. Sydney died in the crash, while her mother and sister suffered injuries including broken bones. At the sentencing, Sidney’s family and friends made a strong appeal to the judge to award Tom the maximum sentence of 9 years in prison. Her mother spoke of her terrible loss. But the judge ruled that 7 years was an appropriate sentence given the circumstances. Sidney’s family has also filed a civil lawsuit which is still pending.
While a criminal lawsuit can help punish a drunk driver for breaking the law, a civil lawsuit can help the victim of the family get back on the road to financial recovery. A criminal lawsuit does not help answer the important questions that victims who have been injured or have lost their loved ones in an accident are faced with in the days after the tragedy. Victims of injuries may struggle with hospitalization expenses, hefty medical bills, doctor bills, and cost of medications. Victims may also have long-term medical expenses, like physical therapy and rehabilitation. The injuries may result in long-term complications that may necessitate additional expenses in the future. Victims may not be able to plan for these long-term expenses before filing a claim.
A criminal action against the motorist who was responsible for their situation doesn’t really help victims answer these questions. In the case of death in a car accident, the survivors of the deceased may have to deal with funeral and burial expenses. If the deceased was the sole earning member of the family, the survivors will be faced with having to arrange for finances for their daily expenses. The bills don’t stop coming in because the head of the family is no more. Besides short-term living expenses, survivors will be faced with the daunting task of dealing with the days, months, and years ahead without the financial means to carry on their lives. In the case of a spouse who is also a survivor, there is loss of the kind of companionship and affection that only a spouse can give. Then there is the immeasurable grief that the family goes through when a loved one is lost.
A criminal action against the motorist who was responsible for their situation doesn’t really help victims answer these questions. There can be no amount of money that can compensate for the loss of a loved one. However, a civil lawsuit can help hold the person responsible for the injuries or wrongful death, accountable for his actions. Any damages that are awarded can be used to deal with the financial problems that usually result after a car accident.
The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of car accidents. Please visit our website at trlglaw.com. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us.
Unless otherwise noted above the Reeves Law Group is not acting as legal counsel for any party in the matters discussed in this posting.
SportsPlay Playground Equipment Recalled
SportsPlay Play Equipment Inc. has announced a voluntary recall of about 540 playground sets. The St-Louis based company, and the Consumer Product Safety Commission jointly announced the recall. The children’s playground sets apparently contain high levels of lead paint on handrails and posts.
The play equipment was manufactured in Turkey, and the recalled products were sold by authorized dealers between January 2003 and December 2007.
Lead if ingested over a long period of time, can be toxic.
The recall includes the Tot Town Fun Center, Tea Cup Merry Go Round, Rope Wall, Tot Town Castle Fun Center, Web Climber, Four Panel Circular Aztec Climber, and Three Panel Aztec Climber. Consumers have been advised to stop using the playgrounds. They have been advised to contact the company to receive free replacement parts. More details about the tainted parts, and the recalled model numbers are available at the company’s web site.
Lead poisoning risks have been linked to a number of toys and children’s products being recalled. Most of these were manufactured in foreign countries. Since 2007, large recalls, involving huge volumes of toys have been announced because of the risk of lead poisoning from the toxic paint on these toys. The Thomas the Tank Engine Toy Trains, and close to a million toys from Mattel toys, have been the subject of recalls because of lead containing paint. Mattel has been particularly hit hard by the vast number of products that it has had to recall because of the lead poising risks, but other companies too have found their products being pulled off shelves.
These concerns about lead poisoning arise from the fact that lead when ingested in small quantities over long periods of time can begin to accumulate in the bone and nerve tissue. The lead can replace calcium in the body, and this can have significant dangers for growing children. The accumulation of lead in the nervous system can lead to behavior problems and delays in cognitive development. A nursing mother who has a high accumulation of lead in the blood can pass on the lead to her baby. In older women, high lead levels are even thought to increase symptoms of dementia.
Even with this massive number of recalls, it’s fair to assume that children’s products containing lead continue to be sold in the market. Although there are accepted standards for the minimum level of lead that’s safe in children’s products, the truth of the matter is that no level of lead is safe when it’s children you’re talking about. That’s because children may be constantly in touch with toys, feeding bottles, PVC bibs and a whole range of other products that could possibly contain acceptable levels of lead. All these products when handled on a daily basis ultimately result in lead accumulation in the body.
The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act will require stringent standards of lead testing on children’s products, including toys and cloths. However, many manufacturers have been up in arms about the act.
The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of recalled products. Please visit our website at trlglaw.com. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us.
Travel Tender Play Yards Recalled Due to Defect
The Consumer Product Safety Commission has announced a voluntary recall of Travel Tender play yards due to a defect that can cause one or more rails of the play yard to collapse suddenly and without warning.
The defect poses the risk of children falling off the yard or becoming trapped. The play yards were sold at major retailers including Babies R Us, Burlington Coat Factory, and Target Corporation. The play yards were made in China, and were imported by SFCA Inc and Simplicity Inc. The yards were sold with a changing table, bassinet, and come with the Simplicity logo. The model numbers included in the recall are 5500 DRN, 5500 WDS, 5500 FEL, 5501 FEL, 5502 MON, 5520 PRO,5550 HAN,5700MAN and 5750 MAR. Consumers who are not sure if their play yard model is included in the recall can look for the model number on a sticker on one of the legs of the play yard.
The CPSC has at least 5 reports of one or more of the play yard rails collapsing. No injuries have been reported because of the defect. Consumers who have the play yards have been requested to stop using these immediately and contact Kohl’s Department store, in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, Target in Minneapolis, and Burlington Coat Factory in Burlington, New Jersey.
The play yard recall is just one in a series of product recalls related to children’s products this year. Earlier this month, Evenflo recalled a series of high chairs because of a defect that could cause the seat back to collapse. The Envision high chair defect caused the seat back to recline unexpectedly leading to the risk of a fall accident. The recall also included the company’s Majestic line of high chairs. At least one child was reportedly injured because of the Envision high chair defect.
Other child product defects in recent years have included defective cribs and bassinets. The Simplicity basinet recall of units made abroad is just one example of how poor manufacturing and design standards place our children at continued danger from using these products.
Beside these children’s products, several toys have been the subject of recalls in the past couple of years. Just last week, toy maker Mega Brand America Inc agreed to pay $1.1 million in a civil penalty for its failure to report a defect in its Magnetix building sets. The defect had tiny magnets coming loose from the building sets, posing an ingestion hazard to little children. The company had been aware of the problem, but failed to report to the CPSC even after a little child was killed after swallowing up to eight of the tiny magnets.
The CPSC however depends overwhelmingly on the expectation that companies will do the right thing, and report defects immediately to the agency. However, very often toy makers and other companies fail to report any defects that could potentially lead to injuries or deaths. By the time these companies decide to report the problem, the product has often caused injuries.
The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of recalled products. Please visit our website at trlglaw.com. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us.
Minnesota Bridge Collapse Victims Settle with State
179 victims of the bridge collapse in Minneapolis in 2007 have reached a settlement with the state of Minnesota. The individual settlements ranged from $4,500 to more than 2.2 million awarded to a woman who suffered brain injuries. The Interstate 35W bridge collapsed on August 1st 2007, during evening rush hour, killing 13 people and injuring 145.
The settlements marked the end of a chapter that began that day. Minnesota’s law limits the state government’s liability in the collapse, and most victims have had very little choice, but to accept settlements from the compensation fund. However, several attorneys have filed lawsuits against consulting firms and contractors who were responsible for the maintenance and construction work on the bridge.
These personal injury lawyers won’t have to contend with any caps on liability awards. Several survivors are suing URS, a consulting firm that was responsible for advising the Minnesota Department of Transportation on bridge maintenance. Besides, PCI, the construction company that was undertaking construction work on the bridge at the time of collapse is also being named in the lawsuits. More than 100 other persons who were injured in the collapse are included in a pro bono group that will sue the two companies later this year.
Last November, the National Transportation Safety Board said that the collapse occurred because of a defective steel gusset plate. The plate that connected bridge beams was not as thick as it should have been, the board concluded. However, experts who will give testimony on behalf of survivors, insist that a horizontal beam bent because of excessive heat on that day, as well as the heavy weight of construction materials that were placed on the bridge. The weight of the load and the excessive heat were combined with shoddy maintenance of the bridge, all merging to create conditions perfect for a collapse.
Meanwhile, for the injured who accepted the official state payments, the settlement brings to an end their wait for justice. However, the mental trauma and anguish that they were left with will last for a long time. Paula Coulter suffered serious head injuries in the collapse, and received an amount of $2.2 million, the highest payout for a survivor. The memories on the day her mini van flipped several times and landed top first when the bridge collapsed, continue to haunt her. Truck driver Bill Wagner received a settlement of $993,205, the third highest for a survivor. The settlement may seem like a big amount, but Wagon has difficulty remembering things, and can barely read. He’s currently on prescription medication that costs him approximately $1,000 a month. He missed a deadline to file paperwork, and so, he won’t be able to collect long term disability payments. If he is unable to find work, which is highly likely, then he will have to survive on the settlement amount for the rest of his life. With no other source of income and no job, the settlement money could disappear quickly.
The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of personal injuries. Please visit our website at trlglaw.com. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us.
Pedestrian Injured in Petaluma Accident Struggles with Recovery
A young woman seriously injured in a Petaluma pedestrian accident last month is still in the hospital, struggling to make a recovery so she can go home to her infant baby girl.
18-year-old Natalie Gonzalez- Fuentes was injured when a car struck her as she walked on a crosswalk. She had been due to meet her boyfriend Fernando Lopez at a restaurant. As she crossed the street in the crosswalk, Fuentes was hit by a car, and thrown 10 feet into the air. Fuentes since then has been through several surgeries to repair her shattered body. She suffered a broken pelvis, as well as surgeries to repair knee ligaments. She’s also scheduled for surgery on her spine, tailbone and sacrum. Fuentes can expect between two and three months of therapy and physical rehabilitation before she can walk again. The young woman was a student at the Santa Rosa Junior College in Petaluma, and will not be able to finish this semester. The biggest disappointment however, has been the separation from her 11-month-old baby girl Julissa.
Fuentes and her family have been finding it hard to take care of her hospital needs, while also looking after the baby. Her mother has taken some time off from work to help Fuentes deal with her injuries. The accident has been hard on everyone involved, but Fuentes and her family have been coping as best as they can.
Meanwhile, the motorist whose car struck Fuentes has said that he did not see her in the cross walk. 80-year-old William Hammerman has been referred to the Department of Motor Vehicles for an evaluation. He does not appear to have been intoxicated at the time of the accident, and there is no evidence that he was speeding.
The question of senior citizens and their driving abilities is one that comes up often and every time there is a serious accident that involves an elderly driver. Safety groups have been making calls for stricter restrictions on older drivers, including the need for compulsory retesting before license renewal for these motorists. Maybe it’s time to look more closely at how we can continue giving older drivers their driving privileges while keeping pedestrians and motorists safe on the road. Any move to change existing driving rules as they apply to senior citizens is met with great resistance by these drivers, who consider these moves to be unfair infringements on their rights. However, it is a fact that an 80-year-old driver simply doesn’t have the reflexes of an 18-year-old. When you have an 80-year-old at the wheel of a car and an 18-year-old pedestrian on a crosswalk, it’s the pedestrian who is more at risk for serious injuries, like in Fuentes’ case.
Until such time that laws concerning senior drivers are passed, the families of these drivers must step in to determine that older adults in their family are capable of driving safely before they allow them to be at the wheel of a car. Doing so protects not just other motorists and pedestrians on the road, but also prevents accident-related injures to the senior citizens themselves.
The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of pedestrian accidents. Please visit our website at trlglaw.com. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us.
Pedestrian Injured in Petaluma Accident Struggles with Recovery
A young woman seriously injured in a Petaluma pedestrian accident last month is still in the hospital, struggling to make a recovery so she can go home to her infant baby girl.
18-year-old Natalie Gonzalez- Fuentes was injured when a car struck her as she walked on a crosswalk. She had been due to meet her boyfriend Fernando Lopez at a restaurant. As she crossed the street in the crosswalk, Fuentes was hit by a car, and thrown 10 feet into the air. Fuentes since then has been through several surgeries to repair her shattered body. She suffered a broken pelvis, as well as surgeries to repair knee ligaments. She’s also scheduled for surgery on her spine, tailbone and sacrum. Fuentes can expect between two and three months of therapy and physical rehabilitation before she can walk again. The young woman was a student at the Santa Rosa Junior College in Petaluma, and will not be able to finish this semester. The biggest disappointment however, has been the separation from her 11-month-old baby girl Julissa.
Fuentes and her family have been finding it hard to take care of her hospital needs, while also looking after the baby. Her mother has taken some time off from work to help Fuentes deal with her injuries. The accident has been hard on everyone involved, but Fuentes and her family have been coping as best as they can.
Meanwhile, the motorist whose car struck Fuentes has said that he did not see her in the cross walk. 80-year-old William Hammerman has been referred to the Department of Motor Vehicles for an evaluation. He does not appear to have been intoxicated at the time of the accident, and there is no evidence that he was speeding.
The question of senior citizens and their driving abilities is one that comes up often and every time there is a serious accident that involves an elderly driver. Safety groups have been making calls for stricter restrictions on older drivers, including the need for compulsory retesting before license renewal for these motorists. Maybe it’s time to look more closely at how we can continue giving older drivers their driving privileges while keeping pedestrians and motorists safe on the road. Any move to change existing driving rules as they apply to senior citizens is met with great resistance by these drivers, who consider these moves to be unfair infringements on their rights. However, it is a fact that an 80-year-old driver simply doesn’t have the reflexes of an 18-year-old. When you have an 80-year-old at the wheel of a car and an 18-year-old pedestrian on a crosswalk, it’s the pedestrian who is more at risk for serious injuries, like in Fuentes’ case.
Until such time that laws concerning senior drivers are passed, the families of these drivers must step in to determine that older adults in their family are capable of driving safely before they allow them to be at the wheel of a car. Doing so protects not just other motorists and pedestrians on the road, but also prevents accident-related injures to the senior citizens themselves.
The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of pedestrian accidents. Please visit our website at trlglaw.com. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us.
Survey: Los Angeles Mom Drivers Among Safest
Mothers in Los Angeles are some of the safest mommy drivers around, with most of them up to date on auto safety and accident prevention driving techniques, a survey says.
The survey conducted by MotherProof.com, a mother focused auto review website, polled mothers in the 10 largest car markets in the country. All the mothers who were polled had children under the age of 12, and drove with these kids frequently. The mothers were polled in the number of safe driving behavior indicators, including whether they used cell phones while driving, restrained their children in car seats etc. Moms in Los Angeles featured at number 5.
According to the survey, mothers in the Dallas/Fort Worth area seem to be safest drivers in the country. The other cities on the list are New York, Philadelphia, Houston, Chicago, District of Columbia, Boston, San Francisco, and Atlanta.
The findings show that although overall, moms in these large metro cities are educated and informed about safe driving, there are discrepancies in their levels of knowledge. For instance, in Dallas 91% of mom drivers who were surveyed were aware of the proper way of placing a child safety seat. In Atlanta however, only 61% of moms were aware of the correct and safe ways to place a child safety seat. In the case of Los Angeles moms, the result showed that 32% of mom drivers were distracted enough by their children to cause serious driving errors like drifting in and out of lanes that could cause an accident.
According to a study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, approximately a quarter of all accidents can be attributed to driver distractions. Mothers who frequently drive – the average American mom drives approximately 405 hours each year – are at an increased risk for accidents because of distractions caused by their children.
Motherproof.com also offers driving tips to mothers to help them keep themselves and their precious passengers safe.
The best way to avoid any cell phone distractions is to switch the device off when you get into the car. If there is an emergency where you absolutely have to make a call on your phone, pull over before you reach for the phone. Besides being bad driving behavior, it’s also illegal in California to use handheld phones while driving.
According to Motherproof parents, all too often neglect to check that the seatbelt is correctly locked. They also make other mistakes that can be fatal in the event of an accident, like forgetting to use the seat tether straps, and neglecting to fit the harness appropriately to the child. Also, make sure you have a high quality car seat made by a reputed manufacturer. Several defective car seats have been the subjects of recalls recently, so check if the seats you have are on the recall list. A child safely restrained in a car seat has a much higher chance of escaping serious injuries or fatalities.
The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of car accidents. Please visit our website at trlglaw.com. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us.
California Bill Will Requires Disclosure of Age of Tires to Prevent Accidents
Last year, an investigation by “20/20″ revealed that tire retailers across the country, including California, were selling old and outdated tires that were well past the recommended age limit of 6 years. The old tires have been linked to at least one car accident in California in which a 12-year-old boy was killed in an SUV rollover. California Assembly Member Mike Davis has introduced a bill that, if passed, would mandate tire dealers to reveal the age of the tire in writing to a consumer before sale and installation of the tire. Other states are also following with laws that would make it harder for tire dealers, some of who include the biggest names in the retail and tire markets, to dump their old and defective tires on the public.
12-year-old William Moreno, of Los Angeles, was killed in a rollover accident when the tread of a tire on the family’s SUV separated. The tire on the SUV later turned out to be 12 years old. Across California, the ABC investigation showed, these old and defective tires, some of which were manufactured between 6 to 10 years ago were openly on sale in the Bay Area and across the state. Not surprisingly, the tire industry is opposing any bill that would require dealers to disclose the age of the tire before sale. According to the Rubber Manufacturers Association the bill is “a gift to trial lawyers” who will use this opportunity to file a defective product liability lawsuits against the tire companies.
Several tire companies, including Michelin and Bridgestone/Firestone, have issued notices to retailers requiring tires to be removed from stocks after they have crossed 10 years from the manufacturing date. The 6-year age limit recommendation is also specified by several automakers including Chrysler, BMW, Ford, and Toyota who all recommend that consumers replace tires 6 years after manufacture. Therefore, tire retailers have no reason to be selling tires that are older than 10 years of age. As ABC’s investigations found, Wal-Mart, Sears, and Goodyear retailers across the country were continuing to sell tires made as far back as 1996.
Making it harder for consumers to tell if the tire they are purchasing is an old one is the cryptic date of manufacture that’s molded on every tire. It’s hard for consumers to decode the date of manufacture. Across the country, states are working on legislation to keep such old tires off the market, including one bill in New York State that would mandate the date of manufactured to be molded on the tire in a “non-coded fashion”. Other states are moving to ban the sale of tires that are more that 6 years old, including Hawaii. In New Jersey, the division of Consumer Affairs is also likely to introduce a rule requiring dealers to reveal the tire age to the buyers.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has admitted that the old and defective tire issue is a problem, but has been very slow to act firmly on it. In the absence of any strong federal legislation banning the sale of old tires, state law makers have had to push for bills in their respective states to protect consumers from the dangers of using these dangerous tires.
For tire retailers, it makes little business sense to dump tires once these are past their 6-year date. It is unsuspecting motorists who are at risk when these defective tires blow out while the vehicle is on the road, causing serious rollover accidents.
The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of defective products. Please visit our website at trlglaw.com. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us.