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Bridgestone/Firestone Committed to Working With State Attorneys General

26 September 2000

Bridgestone/Firestone Committed to Working With State Attorneys General

    NASHVILLE, Tenn., Sept. 25 Bridgestone/Firestone is
committed to working closely with a new group of state attorneys general and
consumer protection agencies that has been formed to address concerns related
to the recent voluntary recall effort, the company said today.
    John Lampe, Executive Vice President for Bridgestone/Firestone, said the
company was informed by Tennessee Attorney General Paul G. Summers that a
"multistate working group" has been formed on the issue.
    "We will be meeting with the group later this week," Lampe said. "We want
them to know that we share their concern for their citizens' safety and well
being, as well as the desire to find the root cause of the tire failures that
have occurred.
    "We continue to believe that, in the interest of public safety, the search
for answers should focus on both the vehicle and the tires," he added.
    Lampe said Bridgestone/Firestone "will be open and fully cooperative with
the working group in sharing data and other background, just as we have with
the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA), Congress
and others."
    According to information received by Bridgestone/Firestone, the current
list of states in the multistate working group are: Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas,
California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois,
Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota,
Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico,
North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina,
Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia, Virginia, and Wisconsin
and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.