Transport i bezpieczeństwo · 30/01/1996

Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards

This document denies a petition for rulemaking submitted by Herzlich Consulting, Inc. Herzlich asked that the tire standards be amended to require that tires be designed to provide a visual indication when the tread depth reaches \3/32\ inch. Herzlich also asked that the agency define legal tire wear out as having \3/32\ inch tread depth with no bald areas. The petitioner asserted that this change would improve wet traction, improve antilock brake system (ABS) performance, result in fewer landfill scrap tires, provide a better supply of undamaged tire casings for retreading, and improve tire safety enforcement. NHTSA has decided to deny the Herzlich petition. The agency believes that there is no safety need to remove tires at \3/32\ inch, that more rather than fewer scrap tires would be generated if tires were removed sooner, that passenger car tires are not retreaded in sufficient numbers to compensate for the greater number of scrap tire casings that would result from earlier tire removal, and that enforcement efforts would not be greatly enhanced if tires were removed when tread depth reaches \3/32\ inches instead of when it reaches \2/ 32\ inches.