33% of auto, LT tires would flunk new NHTSA test; Tire makers face $282 million bill

WASHINGTON (March 7)—One-third of current passenger and light truck tires couldn't pass a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration proposed high speed and endurance tests, the agency said. Furthermore, the overall annual costs to tire makers of implementing these test procedures—themselves only part of a larger tire performance standard from NHTSA—would be $282 million, according to NHTSA. Industry trade associations and tire company officials are studying the 79-page document that appeared on NHTSA's Web site Feb. 28 and in the "Federal Register" March 5. "We've barely scratched the surface," a spokesman for the Rubber Manufacturers Association said, adding that the government's cost estimates have to be considered speculative.