Federal agency investigates defects. But officials are often not aware of potentially perilous problems because auto makers sometimes withhold data to delay costly recalls.
FIRST OF TWO PARTS
After five years of fending off government investigations into a rash of steering column fires, Ford Motor Co. in April 1996 announced the largest safety recall in automotive history, agreeing under pressure to replace the ignition switches in 8 million cars, trucks and vans.
Ford’s action came too late for Prakash Krishan, a 31-year-old mother of three.
In February 1996, Krishan burned to death along a road in Contra Costa County in a fire that allegedly started in the steering column of her ’91 Aerostar van.
The delay may also have figured in the death of James Parks Sr. Days before the recall, flames spread to his garage and house in McAllen, Texas, from a fire his family later contended began in the steering column of his 1988 Lincoln Town Car. The 75-year-old man, who grabbed a garden hose to fight the fire, suffered a heart attack soon after. On April 24, the day Ford announced the recall, Parks died.
Though Ford disputes that any defect caused the fires, the company last month agreed to pay settlements to the families of Krishan and Parks.
The delayed recall highlights a serious flaw in vehicle safety regulation, namely, the ability of auto makers to forestall costly recalls by withholding information from the government, allowing potentially unsafe vehicles to stay on the road.
Read more: http://articles.latimes.com/1999/dec/05/news/mn-40737
