Runge: Tire testing final rule could be ready by late September

WASHINGTON (June 7)—The final rule upgrading federal tire testing and performance standards could reach the Deputy Transportation Secretary's desk by the end of September, according to Jeffrey Runge, administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. "We want to make sure we get it right," said Runge, who added that the volume of data the agency received by its June 5 deadline was both "prodigious" and very persuasive. One of the commenters was the Rubber Manufacturers Association, which said based on its own research more than 40 percent of all current passenger tires and over half of all light truck tires would fail the agency's revised tests.