RMA prefers rolling resistance program to any mandate

May 16, 2007

The Rubber Manufacturers Association (RMA) makes it crystal clear where it stands on Corporate Average Fuel Economy legislation that would lead to the creation of a consumer education program about rolling resistance.

"We'd much prefer (a consumer education program) to legislation that would mandate performance standards for rolling resistance," RMA spokesman Dan Zielinski recently told moderntiredealer.com.

Earlier this month, the Senate Commerce Committee approved legislation concerning CAFE standards. Included in the bill, S. 357, is language to establish a rolling resistance info program for tire buyers. (S. 357 was amended to include the language.)

The consumer education program would make sufficient resources available to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to allow it to gather and report information about the impact of individual passenger tires on vehicle fuel consumption and also create a fuel efficiency rating system for tires, among other things.