U.S. Association Petitions Against TPMS Rule

The U.S. Tire Industry Association (TIA) has submitted a petition for reconsideration with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) regarding the final rule on Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems (TPMSs).

“NHTSA has made what TIA believes to be a huge mistake and is moving backwards on the timeframe in which the telltale must illuminate upon sensing underinflation in a tire,” states the petition. “NHTSA’s original proposal was that the telltale must go off within ten minutes of sensing a problem with a tire’s inflation. The final rule has moved BACKWARDS to 20 minutes. TIA is very concerned that this additional ten minutes will allow an underinflated tire to further deflate, overheat and potentially fail.”

“TIA once again reminds the Agency that when tires fail and consumers are injured, it will be the tire industry that bares the brunt of the repercussions from the injured parties.”

TIA also reiterated its objections to the TPMS trigger threshold, set at 25 percent below recommended cold inflation pressure stating that level will not keep the motoring public safe.

U.S. NHTSA regulations are generally adopted by Transport Canada.