After NHTSA issued its
controversial final tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) regulations in April,
a court challenge was certainly anticipated. How it all went down wasn’t,
though.
Four tire companies –
acting separate from the RMA – joined TIA and consumer group Public Citizen to
file suit against NHTSA, seeking to overturn FMVSS 138 – its TPMS regs –
claiming the agency’s decision “adopting this rule was arbitrary and
capricious.”
That places NHTSA in the
position of having to defend its reasons for setting the TPMS inflation pressure
trigger point at 25% below recommended cold inflation pressure; allowing
indirect TPMSs, which experts claim are technologically inferior to direct
systems; and allowing a 20-minute warm-up period before a TPMS would have to
function.
The action was filed on
June 7 in U.S. District Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. Because
FMVSS 138 was set to take effect by September, it is expected the court will
take action soon.
Tiremakers joining forces
in filing the suit were Bridgestone/Firestone North American Tire, Goodyear Tire
& Rubber Co., Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. and Pirelli Tire North America. At press
time, there was no word if other U.S.-based manufacturers or marketers would
join the suit.
Calling NHTSA’s TPMS
ruling “fatally flawed,” TIA Executive Vice President Roy Littlefield said:
“Congress charged NHTSA with creating a rule that would keep the motoring public
safe. This rule does not do that, which is why we have joined in this lawsuit.”
“We are afraid that this
rule, if it is allowed to stand, will make consumers more apathetic to their
tires, and our tire retailers, manufacturers and technicians more vulnerable to
lawsuits in the future,” said TIA President Dick Gust.
A joint statement issued
by the four tire companies said: “Safety is our highest priority. We have taken
this significant step – along with Public Citizen and the Tire Industry
Association – against NHTSA because we strongly believe the current TPMS rule is
fundamentally flawed and, as such, does not fulfill the spirit of the TREAD Act.
“While we support TPMSs as
a way to increase safety, the current NHTSA rule does not go far enough. There
is technology available to provide faster, more accurate information to
motorists, and it should be required by this rule rather than settling for
systems which are less accurate,” the statement said.
In the weeks following
NHTSA’s issuance of the TPMS regulations, petitions for reconsideration were
filed by TIA, RMA and SEMA, among others. Also, claiming the RMA did not provide
sufficient data to support its request, NHTSA rejected RMA’s petition to
establish recommended cold inflation pressures using a tire pressure reserve so
that tires could carry the maximum load of a vehicle past the TPMS trigger
point.
Tire
Review Online 9th August 2005
13/12/2007 10:10:44 AM +1000
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