NHTSA looking At Explorer Seat Belts

WASHINGTON--The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has opened a preliminary investigation into the seat belts on certain Ford Motor Co. Explorer sport utility vehicles after a reported buckle failure during a fatal rollover crash.

NHTSA said it had received information involving the death of a person in the front passenger seat of a 2000 model year Ford Explorer XLS.

“It is alleged that the webbing of the buckle portion of the seat belt assembly failed during the crash,” according to the agency. The passenger was partially ejected from the SUV, suffering fatal injuries.

Ford said it is cooperating fully with NHTSA.

Rollover wrecks involving Explorers have been attracting the attention of government regulators and the media over the past six months because of crashes allegedly linked to failures of Firestone tires.

Bridgestone/Firestone Corp. last August recalled 6.5 million tires because of tread separation problems. The majority of the 15-inch ATX tires and 15-inch Wilderness AT tires made at Decatur, Ill., were fitted as standard equipment to Explorers.