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Bridgestone/Firestone Statement on NHTSA Preliminary Examination

3 October 2000

Bridgestone/Firestone Inc. Statement on NHTSA Preliminary Examination of Steeltex R4S Tires

    NASHVILLE, Tenn., Sept. 29 The following is a statement
from Bridgestone/Firestone, Inc.:
    Bridgestone/Firestone Inc. today learned that the National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration is opening a preliminary evaluation (PE) into certain of
the company's Steeltex R4S and Steeltex AT light truck tires.
    A NHTSA PE is not a finding of a defect but rather is a process to
determine the facts surrounding complaints that have been filed with NHTSA.
BFS has, and will continue to have, a policy of being open and responsive to
NHTSA as well as other government representatives and agencies.  We have been
and will continue to work diligently to fulfill these inquiries in a timely
and responsive manner with limited staff and limited resources.