Why is Goodyear – the company whose tires are on millions of vehicles (maybe even yours) – trying so hard to hide the truth about one of its tires?
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the government has received claims that Goodyear’s model G159 tires caused accidents that killed or injured nearly a hundred people. Yet the G159 tires are still on the road, because Goodyear has refused to recall them, despite alarming evidence that they could be deadly.
Public Justice and the Center for Auto Safety intervened in a case against Goodyear earlier this year, demanding documents Goodyear has fought to keep secret be made public. We believe these documents show what Goodyear knew about these tires, when they knew it – and what they did, or did not, do about it. Our lawsuit is about finally making the documents public so that Goodyear customers (and everyone else on the road with them) can protect themselves.
In April, we won. But Goodyear is still refusing to release the sealed documents, instead appealing the court’s decision and fighting to make sure the public never knows about its potentially deadly secrets.
Goodyear – a company with more than $15 billion in revenue last year – has lawyered up to ensure the truth about its tires never sees the light of day. In fact, the company is so incensed that it even threatened legal action against a news site that published information about the G159 tires.
If Goodyear doesn’t have anything to hide, why are they fighting so hard – and spending so much – to keep everything so secret?
Our organizations don’t have even a fraction of Goodyear’s money, but we’re determined to make sure these documents see the light of day. For Goodyear customers, it could be a matter of life or death.
The battle against Goodyear has already been expensive, time-intensive, and a true story of David vs. Goliath. With Goodyear going back to court in one last-ditch effort to hide the truth, it will only get more expensive to battle their well-heeled lawyers.
One judge has already said that the information Goodyear is trying to keep secret “reveals a substantial potential risk to public health or safety.” But Goodyear refuses to take them off the road. Refuses to release documents that could reveal just how deadly the tire might be. And refuses to place public safety ahead of the company’s billions in annual revenue.
Enough already. After two decades of Goodyear hiding the truth, evading questions and refusing to recall its product, it is time to pull back the curtain and find out why the company is fighting so hard to shroud its tire in secrecy.
