Ford, Firestone in Talks with U.S. Over Fatal Crashes

Bridgestone/Firestone Inc. said Monday that its investigation into catastrophic tire failures has neither cleared its own factory workers nor the Ford Explorer truck, which has been involved in dozens of fatal accidents while using Firestone tires.

Federal regulators began four days of talks Monday with Ford Motor Co. and Bridgestone/Firestone, hoping to home in on the cause of accidents involving tread separations of Firestone tires that have left at least 148 people dead.

Firestone continues to examine the role of the Explorer, America’s best-selling sport-utility vehicle, and maintains that the SUV has a dangerous propensity to roll over.

“We need to look at the interrelationships between tire and vehicle,” spokesman David Dickson said.

Officials from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in Washington were to meet with Ford on Monday and today before holding discussions with Bridgestone/Firestone in Akron, Ohio, on Wednesday and Thursday.

NHTSA spokesman Rae Tyson declined to comment on the talks.