As the executives from Ford and Firestone bicker with each other in front of Congressional committees and the American public, the latter group is the true loser. In the United States alone, 88 people have died because their tires either blew out, lost their treads or, as in some of Ford’s sport utility vehicles, rolled over. No matter if top executives were purposely attempting to hide the tires’ flaws or they were simply unable to see a pattern of failure, their negligence is astonishing. Rather than working together to solve the problem, Ford and Firestone are working arduously to alienate Americans to insure that the companies will never be trusted again.
At the very least, Ford and Firestone are guilty of negligence. Firestone had been analyzing claims data from 1997 to 1999 and determined that the recalled tires were causing large amounts of property damage and many injury claims. This information, however, was only used to determine profit loss and was not applied to potential safety problems. This act reveals a wanton disregard for the consumer and offers insight into what the company executives’ priorities actually are. It was eventually claims data from Ford that led to the tire recall.
An astonishing revelation about the recalls is that Ford has already been doing them for more than a year. While administering a recall in 16 foreign countries, Ford officials failed to demonstrate a similar concern for American consumers and begin the same recall in the United States, where people were dying from the faulty tires. This troubling decision demonstrates why the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which had jurisdiction, requires more authority to prevent similar future occurrences. Ford never felt obligated, nor was it legally required, to inform U.S. authorities about their overseas recall.
If the government had intervened earlier, lives might have been saved. Now all Ford and Firestone can do is sift through the ruins of their relationship with U.S. consumers. When an honest mistake occurs and is followed by an honest apology, people are more likely to forgive and maybe even forget. These two companies have done neither of the above and will pay for it dearly. Hopefully, the American public will not forget that 88 people died needlessly, and our government will not forget that the limited role they play can save lives.