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NEW U.S. LAW REGULATES TIRES AND CALLS FOR MANDATORY TIRE PRESSURE MONITORS
August 13, 2001 -U.S. legislation enacted last fall is turning up the heat under tire manufacturers. This sector of the automotive industry has already been on the hot seat for over a year. The Transportation Recall Enhancement, Accountability, and Documentation (TREAD) Act calls for a number of new safety standards for tires and tire manufacturers. The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) is charged with developing the standards.
The TREAD Act reviews reports from around the world of problems with tires in collisions, especially when there are injuries. This enables learning about safety problems in foreign countries before they become a problem in the United States. Besides upgrading tire safety standards, the Act also calls upon NHTSA to consider improvements in child passenger safety.
Manufacturers must develop programs that ensure recalled tires are rendered "out of service," and encourage the disposal of the tires in environmentally friendly ways. The law calls for a dynamic rollover test to be developed by NHTSA by 2002. NHTSA will also initiate a rulemaking to improve tire labeling requirements, including inflation levels and load limits.
Tire Pressure Monitoring System
The TREAD Act also calls upon NHTSA to adopt a regulation requiring the use of tire pressure warning systems in all vehicles built in the United States by 2004. This is a relatively new technology, and an important one not only for safety but for fuel consumption and tire life. It's a safety issue because low tire inflation can result in less stability and uneven braking. Tire pressure monitoring is even more important with the growing popularity of run-flat tires, which have a stiff sidewall and don't exhibit the characteristic bulge associated with standard tires.
A previous I-CAR Advantage article discussed tire pressure monitoring systems (see "Smart Tires" in the March-April 2000 issue of the Advantage). One system has been developed by an independent electronics firm and should be available for 2003. The system uses sensors to measure both the air pressure and air temperature inside each tire. The data is sent via a wireless transmitter to a receiver mounted to a display panel inside the vehicle for easy monitoring by the driver. Tire pressure is monitored even when the vehicle isn't moving.
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