Dumb Lawsuits

A jury has awarded a family $61 million dollars as a result of a fatal roll-over in a 1996 Ford Explorer, Business Week reports. The seventeen-year-old boy was killed when his friend, who was driving the vehicle, fell asleep at the wheel and lost control of the vehicle.

While this certainly was a tragic accident, Ford should not be held liable by accidents caused by the carelessness of drivers. Ford spokeswoman Karen Shaughnessy said:

“This tragic accident occurred when the driver of the vehicle fell asleep at the wheel while traveling at highway speeds. Real-world experience and testing show that the Explorer is a safe vehicle, consistently performing as well as or better than other vehicles in its class.”

While the performance of the Explorer and it’s now-famous Firestone tires is debatable, what isn’t debatable is that the driver has a responsbility to remain awake and alert at all times while driving the vehice.