NHTSA Proposes Tire Monitoring Regulations
The government agency charged with improving traffic safety proposed regulations Tuesday for tire-pressure monitoring systems that eventually would be mandatory in all new cars and trucks.
In a “notice of proposed rule-making” posted on its Web site, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said such systems would include a warning indicator that lights up to inform drivers when their vehicles have significantly under-inflated tires--one factor cited in hundreds of deadly accidents involving millions of since-recalled Firestone tires.
The notice will be published in the Federal Register on Thursday, and NHTSA will solicit comments from the public until Sept. 6, agency spokesman Rae Tyson said.
NHTSA must then come up with a final rule by Nov. 1 as mandated by Congress, Tyson said.
The proposal describes two alternatives. One would require drivers be warned when the pressure in one or more tires, up to four tires, falls 20% or more below the vehicle manufacturer’s recommended cold inflation pressure or a minimum level of pressure to be specified in the new standard, whichever pressure is higher.
The other version would require the driver be warned when tire pressure in one or more tires, up to three tires, has fallen 25% or more below the vehicle manufacturer’s recommended cold inflation pressure or a minimum pressure to be specified in the new standard, again whichever is higher.
The first plan probably would require vehicle manufacturers to install tire-pressure sensors in each tire, the NHTSA proposal said.
Under the second scheme, vehicle manufacturers could install sensors in each tire or calculate tire pressure from anti-lock braking systems through differences in the tires’ rotational speed.
The new rules fall under the Transportation Recall Enhancement, Accountability and Documentation Act of 2000, known as the TREAD Act, which was spurred by the hundreds of accidents that involved Ford Motor Co.’s Explorer sport-utility vehicle and tires made by Bridgestone/Firestone Inc. that lost their treads.
Under-inflation is a main reason tires lose their treads, especially after prolonged driving at high speeds in hot weather when extreme heat builds up in tires.
