Congress may pass its first long term highway bill in a decade, and the latest House-Senate conference report includes provisions to make tire registration mandatory once again.
The “Tire Efficiency, Safety, and Registration Act of 2015,” includes three points advocated for by the Rubber Manufacturers Association (RMA):
Tire efficiency minimum performance standards: The rules would include wet and dry traction standards for passenger tires rated for 149 mph and higher;
Tire registration by independent sellers: A distributor or dealer of tires not owned or controlled by a tire manufacturer would maintain records of the tire purchaser’s name and address, tire identification information and “any additional records” deemed appropriate. That information would have to be electronically submitted to the tire manufacturer or its designee.
Tire recall database: Create a publicly available and searchable electronic database of tire recall information that is reported to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
While the RMA supports the legislation, the Tire Industry Association (TIA) is opposed to forcing independent tire dealers and distributors shoulder the burden of registration, and then turning over that customer data to tire manufacturers. TIA has been gathering signatures of tire dealers to support its position with an online campaign.
The legislation also calls for a tire identification study and report examining the feasibility of requiring tire manufacturers to include electronic Tire Identification Number (TIN) data on every tire, and for all manufacturers to use identical technology.
The U.S. House is expected to vote on the conference report on Dec. 3, and the U.S. Senate is expected to vote on Dec. 4.
The full text of the conference report on the highway bill, formally known as “Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act,” is available here. The tire-related section is located on pages 1071-1077.
