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Ford Strong-Arms Consumer Group Over Roof Strength Standards

By Joe Benton
ConsumerAffairs.com

December 2, 2005

Rollovers • Feds Delay New Roof-Crush Rule til October • Report: NHTSA Seeks More Time for Roof-Crush Rule • Senators Seek Delay in New Roof Strength Safety Rules • Senators Question Roof Strength Safety Rules • Nader Protests Feds' Roof Crush Plan • Treacherous Treads Still Taking Lives • Ford Class Action Settlement Leaves Consumers in the Dust • Feds' Roof Crush Rule Inadequate, Critics Charge • New Study: Stronger SUV Roofs Save Lives • Ford Loses $82 Million Rollover Verdict Appeal • Feds Delay Roof Strength Rule Again • Ford Settles Explorer Rollover Lawsuits • Safety Crusaders Seek Action on Roof Crush Injuries • Roof Crush Summit Highlights Safety Shortcomings • Feds Ignore Roof Crush Conference • Feds Delay New Roof Strength Rule • GM to Offer Rollover Airbags, Ford to Strengthen Roofs • Safety Groups Want Earlier Stability Control Rule --- • More about Rollovers ...

Public Citizen is asking a Florida court to unseal safety tests from Ford Motor Co.'s Volvo division because the consumer advocacy group says the tests disclose flaws in a new standard for vehicle roof strength backed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

Joan Claybrook, Public Citizen's president, said the group had planned to put the documents on its Web site earlier this year but stopped after Ford threatened to sue.

Ford has repeatedly claimed that the documents reveal trade secrets and should remain hidden from public view.

"Ford is going to challenge this all the way, because the contents of these documents show that the roofs of vehicles could be made far safer than they are today and far safer than the NHTSA has proposed," Claybrook said.

The information contained in the Ford documents has been widely published but the consumer and safety advocates insist that disclosing the information will force NHTSA to revise the new rule for how well car and truck roofs should protect people in rollovers.

“These documents are at the core of this vital public safety issue,” she said. “They show that Ford made the Explorer’s roof treacherously weak, and that Volvo has outlined a solution for all automakers that would prevent the ongoing tragedy of needless deaths in rollover crashes,” Claybrook said.

Roof strength has become a key concern among auto-safety experts as the number of Americans dying in rollovers has grown to more than 10,000 a year.

The current rule, enacted in 1971, requires roofs to hold 1.5 times their weight and excludes many larger sport-utility vehicles and vans.

Ford has provided the documents in about 20 lawsuits, always under seal, and said in a statement it would continue to share them in legal cases.

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