The Rubber Manufacturers Association (RMA) is not pursuing tyre repair legislation in the states this year but is focusing more on public education about proper tyre repair, according to Dan Zielinski, RMA senior vice president of public affairs.
The association does, however, plan to focus on introducing and passing model legislation on used tyres, Mr. Zielinski told Tire Business in a recent inteview, and the association’s used tyre bill language does overlap to a degree with the RMA’s general guidelines on tyre repair.
Under the provisions of the used tyre bill, no used tyre with an improper repair may be sold. Tyres subject to a safety recall, or that have visible damage or less than 1/16-inch tread depth, are also forbidden from being sold.
On the other hand, used tyres that have been properly repaired and meet other safety criteria are fine for sale under the RMA model bill, according to Mr. Zielinski.
“As long as the used tyre is properly repaired, you can’t tell the difference between the used tyre and a tyre bought new,” he said.
The RMA hasn’t yet decided in which state legislatures it will introduce the used tyre bill, but it plans to make that decision shortly, Mr. Zielinski said.
There is also a bill pending before the New York legislature that would prohibit the sale of any used tyre that would fail a state safety inspection, he added.
The RMA model tyre repair bill, which the association sponsored in the Maryland legislature early in 2013, makes it illegal to repair a tyre:
In tyre repair itself, however, the RMA has made no changes to its recommended procedures, according to Mr. Zielinski.
During the most recent National Tire Safety Week June 1-7, the association included a one-page handout on tyre repair in its educational materials to help dealers explain industry-recommended repair guidelines to consumers, he said.
“Some customers challenge dealers who try to repair a tyre correctly, saying that a service station in their neighborhood can plug a tyre for $10,” Mr. Zielinski said.
For customers who want more information, the RMA makes a tyre repair wall chart available for sale, and offers for free on its website — www.rma.org — a downloadable PowerPoint version of the chart, he said.
On its website, the RMA cited a 2006 study it conducted of more than 14,000 scrap tyres, noting that it found 17 percent of the tyres had a tyre repair and, of that subset, 88 percent of the repairs were improper.
It provided the following criteria necessary to perform a proper repair:
In reinforcing the need for proper tyre repairs, the RMA also referred to a 2006 case in which “a California jury awarded a $14 million judgment against an auto dealer for improperly repairing a tyre that eventually failed and contributed to a fatal van crash.”
However, the RMA does not get involved in tyre repair training, according to Mr. Zielinski. The consumer tyre training programs offered by the Tire Industry Association (TIA) already cover that area well, he said.
TIA offers modules on tyre repair in its Basic and Certified Automotive Tire Service (ATS) training programs, according to Kevin Rohlwing, TIA senior vice president of training.
The Basic Commercial Tire Service (CTS) program does not include tyre repair because the Occupational Safety and Health Administration does not require it, Mr. Rohlwing said. The Certified CTS program, however, does include a module on tyre repair.
“None of the remaining programs — earthmover, farm, and industrial when it’s released next year — includes modules on tyre repair because there are no industry-approved methods for repairing injuries in the field,” he said.