The Tire Industry Association (TIA) calls a recently passed regulation that will force all tire dealers in California to check air pressure on every vehicle they service "overreaching and burdensome."
Last week, the California Environmental Protection Agency's Air Resources Board announced that starting in July 2010, all tire dealers and auto repair service providers in the state will be required to check tire pressures on every vehicle they service. Some 40,000 service providers will be subject to the regulation.
Paul Fiore, TIA director of government and business relations, says certain requirements within the mandate -- including the notation of pressure levels and reading times on invoices -- "are overkill. I find those regulations burdensome."
TIA, he explains, is concerened "about creating more liability for tire dealers. Trial lawyers are always looking for pieces of paper to use... it's a gift to the trial lawyers."
Fiore adds that the Air Resources Board did not consult TIA before putting the regulation together.