Cooper Tire Maker Sued For Fatal Florida Wreck That Killed Four Students

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Posted on 13th June 2010 by gjohnson in Uncategorized

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A negligence lawsuit alleges that a faulty Cooper  tire was to blame for an accident that killed four Jacksonville, Fla., high school students last year, according to The Florida Times-Union.   

 http://jacksonville.com/news/crime/2010-06-07/story/wreck-killed-4-jacksonville-teens-leads-lawsuit-against-tire-car

The suit was filed by the family of one of the teenagers killed in the accident, and it named Cooper Tire and Rubber Co. and three others as defendants.

The fatal crash took place on Interstate 295 on the last day of school in 2009 for Ed White High School. The students were heading to the beach in an Explorer SUV when its left rear tire had a blowout, causing the crash. 

Four students died and four others were injured when the tread of their Explorer’s left rear tire separated. The tire was a Cooper Cobra, and the suit alleges that Cooper’s manufacturing techniques make the treads of its tires more prone to separating.

The lawyer for one of the teens that died, 16-year-old Shannon Bloom, said that Cooper has had many cases of its tires separating, causing accidents. There are numerous negligence suits pending against the tire maker.

 A spokesman for Cooper Tire told The Times-Union that the fatal accident wasn’t caused by his company’s tires or their design. The tire maker pointed out that the Explorer involved in the Florida accident is only supposed to seat five people.

But the day of the accident, the Explorer had nine people on board, and only one was wearing a seat belt, the driver Brandon Hodges. Cooper Tire also pointed out that Hodges didn’t have a driver’s license at the time of the accident.

Hodges, 16, has been charged with driving without a license causing death. He is awaiting trial.

Accident victim Bloom’s attorney contends that he can prove that the crash would have happened even if an experienced driver had been behind the wheel.

The Explorer was owned by the parents of one of the teens hurt in the crash, Rebecca Pilkington, 16.  The SUV had been in for service about two weeks before the crash, and a Cooper distributor, Big Chief’s Tire Co., replaced two of its tires.   

 

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Prompted By The Travis Barker Plane Crash, Federal Officials Order Frequent Learjet Tire Checks

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Posted on 9th June 2010 by gjohnson in Uncategorized

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Underinflated tires not only cause car accidents, they can cause planes to crash. 

That’s why federal regulators have established stricter rules regarding the tire pressure on Learjets. It’s an attempt  to prevent a fatal plane crash like the one involving Blink 182 drummer Travis Barker and the disc jockety DJ AM in 2008.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703302604575294072660453954.html?KEYWORDS=Learjet

The Federal Aviation Administration put out a directive Tuesday that orders U.S. operators of more than 200 model 60 Learjet business aircraft to do landing-gear inspections more often.

Underinflated tires have proven to be dangerous, and were cited as one of the causes of a crash of a charter Learjet carrying Travis and DJ AM in Columbia, S.C., as it tried to take off in September 2008. Travis and DJ AM were hurt, and four people died in the accident.

An investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board determined that the tires on the jet’s main landing gear were underinflated, and that the tires fell apart during the takeoff. Their pressure hadn’t been checked in three weeks.   

    http://car-accident-rain.com/blog/2010/04/federal-authorities-blame-tires-pilot-for-travis-barker-jet-crash-that-killed-four-people.html?preview=true&preview_id=360&preview_nonce=ea7f96952f

Shards from the tires struck the Learjet’s brakes and hydraulic lines, disrupting other systems in the jet. That resulted in the pilot being unable to stop the plane, and it sped off the runway and crashed.

Under the new FAA rules, the tires on Learjet 60 model will have to be checked every four days.

The federal agency was aware that underinflated tires posed a safety hazard. A year ago the FAA put out a safety  alert that told pilots to pay attention to tire pressure.  

 

 

  

Arizona Appellate Court Clears Jiffy Lube Of Liability In Tire Inspection

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Posted on 13th May 2010 by gjohnson in Uncategorized

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A Jiffy Lube station is off the hook for not telling a customer that his tire treads has been warn down dangerously low, the Arizona Court of Appeals ruled. http://lawyersusaonline.com/blog/2010/05/12/jiffy-lube-not-liable-for-faulty-tires/

In the case at hand the plaintiff brought his parent’s vehicle to a Jiffy Lube to have its oil changed. As part of the service, Jiffy Lube checked out the car’s tire pressure.

But then a few weeks after the oil change the plaintiff had an accident where he lost control of the car while driving on a wet road. He was paralyzed when the car rolled over.

His family had charged that Jiffy Lube had a responsibility to inspect that car’s tires and report on any wear that could lead to an accident.

The chain doesn’t replace tires or sell them, but it will rotate them for an additional fee. But the plaintiff has only paid for the oil change service.

But Arizona’s appeals court agreed with a summary judgment that had been in favor of Jiffy Lube.  

“(We) disagree with plaintiffs that their contractual relationship with Jiffy Lube extended to a safety inspection of the vehicle’s tires such that Jiffy Lube owed a duty of reasonable care to inspect the tires,” the appeals court said. “The oil change agreement between Jiffy Lube and plaintiffs included only a check of thei air pressure in the tires, not an overall inspection.”  

 

Tire Shards May Have Damaged Continental Plane’s Hydraulic System, Forcing Plane To Turn Around

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Posted on 12th May 2010 by gjohnson in Uncategorized

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Officials in New Jersey are probing whether shards from a damaged tire lead to a Continental Airlines flight being forced to make an emergency landing at Newark Liberty International Airport Sunday, according to The Star-Ledger. 

 http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/05/faa_probes_whether_damaged_tir.html

Authorities suspect that pieces of the plane’s tire may have damaged the hydraulic system of Continental Flight 9, which had taken off for Tokyo but had to return to Newark because the crew couldn’t retract its landing gear.

Port Authority of New York and New Jersey police had a photo of the tire following the emergency landing, and most of its tread had been sheared off, according to The Ledger.

The Federal Aviation Administration planned to study flight and maintenance data from Continental to confirm if the tire shards did cut the hydraulic line.

The Boeing 777, which had 291 passengers and crew, landed back at Newark airport less than an hour after its takeoff, setting back down at 12:15 p.m.   

 

 

Campaign Getting In Gear In Oregon To Get Studded-Tire Ban Passed

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Posted on 5th May 2010 by gjohnson in Uncategorized

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It seems that the use of studded tires has been a perennial hot topic in Oregon.  And the debate has been renewed.

The consumer columnist for The Oregonian, Joseph Rose,  recently wrote about how “a citizen activist” in the state this summer plans to rev up a campaign to get a studded-tire ban on the 2012 ballot in Oregon. http://blog.oregonlive.com/commuting/2010/04/anti-studded_tires_campaign_la.html

And this initiative already has a website,  http://www.banstuddedtires.com/ , up for its campaign.

The activist pushing for the anti-stud ban is Jeff  Bernards, who is  like Don Quixote in his quest to “save Oregon’s roads and budgets from senseless waste.” But it’s apparently been a tough sell. The state Legislature has been rejecting passing such a ban since 1974. 

The anti-tire stud group and Rose maintain that the studs do $40 million in damage annually to the state’s roads, 

Another Oregon columnist, Patrick Emerson of The Oregon Business Report, seemed amused about the brouhaha. http://oregonbusinessreport.com/2010/05/debated-renewed-over-studded-tire-ban-tax/

Both Wisconsin and Minnesota ban studded tires, according to Emerson, who spent many years living in Wisconsin.   

In the case of Oregon, he cited one economist’s suggestion, which is to add a tax to studded tires to pay to repair the damage they do to roads.

 But we liked the comment that one man, who is against the stud-ban,  put on Emerson’s blog.

“What’s the cost of driving up 99E along the river from Oregon City to Canby, spinning out on the ice and getting killed?” Matthew asked.

We’re with him.

   

 

 

Canadian Man Suffers Major Head Injuries In Runaway Tire Accident

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Posted on 21st April 2010 by gjohnson in Uncategorized

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A man in Canada sustained serious head injuries in a four-car accident when the vehicles hit tires that flew off a garbage truck. http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/story/2010/04/20/runaway-tires.html

 The crashes took place at 4:30 a.m. on Highway 403 near Dundas, Canada. The 23-year-old driver of a Suburu sedan involved in the crash suffered bad head injuries when he was thrown from his vehicle. He was air-lifted to a hospital.   

 Police said that the incident happened when cars struck a pair of runaway tires that came off the garbage truck. The drivers involved in the crashes couldn’t see the tires in the predawn darkness.

 After a series of fatal accidents a few years ago, at least one province in Canada put in place larger fines against trucking firms for accidents caused by runaway tires.     

 

 

Toyota Recalls Siennas Over Spare Tire Holders

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Posted on 19th April 2010 by gjohnson in Uncategorized

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 Toyota is recalling more than 600,000 Sienna minivans over worries about the vehicles’ rusting spare tire holders. http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2010/04/17/us/politics/AP-US-Toyota-Recall.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=Toyota%20and%20Sienna&st=cse

 Toyota is worried that after the bad winter in the U.S., road salt could cause rust on the carrier cable that holds the Seinna’s spare tire, causing the tire to pop off and fall onto the road. That could pose a danger to other drivers, although the automaker says so far no accidents have been reported due to this problem.

 The automaker has already recalled more than 8,000 cars due to their defective accelerator pedal problems.

 In the case of the Sienna, the Toyota recall affects the 1998 to 2010 model Siennas that have two-wheel drive and have been sold in 20 states with cold weather, according to The New York Times.

 Toyota is trying to find a way to solve the tire problem.

 

Federal Authorities Blame Tires, Pilot For Travis Barker Jet Crash That Killed Four People

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Posted on 8th April 2010 by gjohnson in Uncategorized

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 A federal probe has found that under-inflated tires were one of the causes of a 2008 Learjet crash that killed four people and injured Blink 182 drummer Travis Barker and the disc jockey DJ AM.

 http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5izwd7Gz69cuwiUr1cScdTnRDTpYAD9ETPQD81

 The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) also attributed the crash to flight Captain Sarah Lemmon’s decision to abort takeoff when the plane was traveling at a dangerously fast speed. http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-04-06/business-jet-crash-in-2008-caused-by-tires-pilot-u-s-says.html

 Lemmon only had 35 hours of experience flying a Learjet 60, and decided to stop the takeoff even though the plane was traveling at 150 miles per hour.

 The jet’s tires hadn’t been checked in three weeks, and on Sept. 18, 2008 it overshot the runway at a Columbia, S.C., airport. The plane was carrying Barker and DJ AM, whose real name is Adam Goldstein, two of their staff members and two pilots. The artists were leaving after performing in Columbia, S.C.

 When the pilot attempted to abort the takeoff, all four of the jet’s  tires exploded. Parts of the tires hit the plane’s hydraulic system, rendering the brakes useless.

 The jet ran off the runway, went through a fence, crossed a five-lane highway, crashed into an embankment and than burst into flames. Barker and Goldstein were the only survivors. Goldstein died a year after the accident of a drug overdose.

 The NTSB also found fault with the Learjet’s operator, Global Exec Aviation, for “inadequate maintenance.”    

 

 

 

Oregon, Washington Postpone Deadline For Studded Tire Removal

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Posted on 5th April 2010 by gjohnson in Uncategorized

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Because winter-like conditions have extended into spring, Oregon and Washington have pushed back the deadline for the removal of studded snow tires. They must now be removed by April 11.  http://news.opb.org/article/7027-oregon-and-washington-extend-studded-tire-season/

The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) not only considered the recent weather conditions, but also the feedback it heard from residents who live or travel at higher elevations.

Just this past Tuesday, even though spring has officially started, winter-like weather was blamed for a number of accidents and road closings.

In Oregon, drivers can be fined $190 if they don’t remove their tired by the new deadline of April 11. In Washington, the penalty is $124.

Studded tires rack up $11 million in damage to Oregon’s roads every year, according to ODOT.

 

 

New Jersey Drivers Must Now Stop For Pedestrians

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Posted on 4th April 2010 by gjohnson in Uncategorized

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When you live in a small town as I do, you learn to do this as a matter of courtesy. The manners of driving are just different in small towns and the person you wait for may be a client, the mother of your child’s friend, a senior citizen. Sometimes I worry that some big city person will not be paying attention and rear end me for it, but all and all, it is just good driving behavior.

My driving manners became the law of the State in New Jersey this week with a new law that requires vehicles to come to a complete stop when a pedestrian enters a crosswalk. The law was being lauded by a man whose son was struck by a man who drove through a stop sign while being distracted, apparently reaching for a drink. http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/04/nj_law_changes_rules_of_engage.html

Joel Feldman’s son Casey, a 21-year-old college student, was a statistic last year. About 150 pedestrians on average have been killed every year since 2004 in the Garden State, but that number rose to 159 last year, according to data from the state Division of Highway Traffic Safety. Casey was one of the 159.

The change in New Jersey’s law requiring drivers to stop, not just yield, to pedestrians in crosswalks is meant to cut down on pedestrian deaths.

Feldman, talking to The Star-Ledger about his son’s death in Ocean City, said, “The driver was distracted, reaching for an ice tea or something, and just went through the stop sign. It all happened in broad daylight.”

The penalties under the new law range from a $200 fine, a $100 increase from the old law; community service and two points on a driver’s license.

One former Rutgers University transportation expert said the law will make it clear that drivers must stop for pedestrians, a far different and less ambiguous mandate than just asking motorists to yield.

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