WASHINGTON (Jan. 22, 2008) — Consumer group Public Citizen has no standing to challenge the tire pressure monitoring system standard promulgated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has ruled.
Public Citizen, the Tire Industry Association and four tire manufacturers filed suit against NHTSA in June 2005, claiming the TPMS standard was fundamentally flawed and had to be sent back to the agency for reconsideration.
Last June, the appeals court ruled that TIA and the tire makers lacked standing to challenge NHTSA´s refusal to reconsider the rule but invited Public Citizen to submit further documentation of its standing to do so.
In its ruling today, the court said Public Citizen failed to quantify persuasively how consumers will be injured by a 20-minute lag between the TPMS uncovering an underinflated tire and warning the driver, or by the lack of a requirement that all systems be compatible with replacement tires. Officials of Public Citizen could not immediately be reached for comment.