Unlikely Allies Challenge NHTSA Tire Rules

Public Citizen, a consumer-advocacy group, and several tire manufacturers have joined together to challenge new rules adopted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration mandating driver alerts for under-inflated tires. The mandatory tire-pressure monitors are required pursuant to a Law adopted in 2000 in the wake of the recall of more than 6 million Bridgestone/Firestone tires. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York subsequently threw out an initial regulation, upholding a challenge from the Public Citizen Group claiming that the proposed new rules were not strict enough. The latest version of the Rule adopted by NHTSA in 2005 would require that new vehicles include dashboard lights indicating when tires are 25 percent under-inflated, but it only applies to original-equipment tires, not replacements. The Public Citizen Group and manufacturers maintain that the 25 percent standard could result in tire failures without the driver ever seeing a warning light.