Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • European Rubber Journal
  • Plastics News
  • Tire Business
Subscribe
  • Login
  • Register
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Tire
    • Airless Tires
    • Non-Tire
    • More News
    • Suppliers
    • Silicone
    • Latex
    • Technical Notebooks
    • Opinion
    • Online Exclusive
    • Special Reports
    • Automotive
    • Executive Action
    • Government/Legal
    • Sustainability
    • Blogs
      • Products
      • Wacky World of Rubber
    • PFAS
    • Best Places to Work
    • War in Ukraine
    • International Tire Exhibition & Conference
    • Women Breaking the Mold
  • Rubber Division IEC
  • Custom
    • Sponsored Content
    • White Papers
  • Resources
    • Directory
    • Classifieds & Mold Mart
  • Data
  • Events
    • RN Events
    • RN Livestreams/Webinars
    • Industry Events
    • Past Events
    • Rubber News M&A Live
    • PFAS Live
    • Ask the Expert
    • International Tire Exhibition & Conference (ITEC)
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
  • Advertise
  • DIGITAL EDITION
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. News
October 28, 2015 02:00 AM

NTSB recommends fixing 'broken' tire recall process

Miles Moore
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More

    WASHINGTON—The tire registration and recall process is broken, according to the National Transportation Safety Board, and the agency has 11 sweeping recommendations to fix it.

    Mandatory point-of-sale tire registration, electronic means of capturing registration information, full tire identification numbers on both sidewalls and easy-to-use safety recall lookup sites are among the major recommendations made by the NTSB in the special investigation report on passenger vehicle tire safety it approved 4-0 at a public meeting Oct. 27.

    “The current tire registration process has proven to be ineffective in enabling tire manufacturers to compile complete and accurate customer contact information, which is vital to ensuring the success of a tire recall,” the NTSB said in the conclusions in its report.

    The board issued only its conclusions, recommendations and executive summary at the meeting at its Washington headquarters. Release of the full report is expected in the coming weeks.

    Each year, some 33,000 tire-related crashes occur, accounting for more than 19,000 injuries, NTSB officials said at the public meeting. In 2013, 539 people died in tire-related accidents, it said.

    “We cannot change what happened in the past, and we cannot bring back the 539 fathers, mothers, sons, daughters and friends who lost their lives due to tire causes in 2013,” NTSB Chairman Christopher Hart said in his closing statement. “But action on today's recommendations can help bring those numbers down in future years.”

    The NTSB issued nine recommendations to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, one to AAA and the Rubber Manufacturers Association, and one to the major U.S. tire manufacturers.

    The recommendations to NHTSA were:

    • To seek authority to require all tire dealers to register tires at the point of sale;

    • To develop voluntary standards for a computerized method of capturing, storing and uploading tire registration information at the point of sale;

    • To include fields for email addresses, telephone numbers and vehicle identification numbers on tire registration forms;

    • To require tire manufacturers to include complete TINs on both outboard and inboard sidewalls;

    • To require tire manufacturers to put recall information on their websites in formats searchable by TINs;

    • To modify the NHTSA tire recall search feature to allow consumers to look up tires by TIN as well as by brand and model;

    • To determine the level of crash risk associated with passenger tire safety and tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) standards, and implement plans to promote the tire aging test protocol if tire safety and TPMS results show tire aging risk should be mitigated;

    • To develop a consensus document on tire aging with tire makers, auto makers and safety advocates that includes best practices on how to mitigate tire aging; and

    • To work with auto and tire industry representatives to develop a tire safety action plan that promotes technological innovation.

    The NTSB recommended that the RMA and AAA work together to evaluate the effectiveness of current tire safety efforts. To tire makers, it recommended that they put tire safety recall information on their websites in formats searchable by TIN as well as brand and model.

    NTSB members expressed dismay at the meeting about the ineffectiveness of the current registration and recall system. According to the report, whereas the recovery rate in vehicle recalls is about 78 percent, the recovery rate in tire recalls is only about 44 percent, of which 24 percent are accounted for by natural attrition rather than positive responses to recalls.

    NTSB Member Robert Sumwalt said the report motivated him to change the tires on his car the day before the meeting. The tires had only been driven 18,000 miles, Sumwalt said, but they had been manufactured nine years ago and had been on the car seven years.

    “You don't wait six or seven years to change your oil,” he said.

    The report was based on NTSB investigations of four tire-related fatal crashes, and on a resulting symposium the board held in December 2014 seeking industry, government and safety advocate recommendations on how to improve tire safety.

    Daniel Zielinski, RMA senior vice president-public affairs, said his association found it encouraging that the NTSB agreed with a number of the RMA's recommendations, especially tire registration by dealers, recall search engines based on TIN lookups, and consumer education.

    “Two of our recommendations—TIN lookups and mandatory registration—are being debated in Congress right now,” Zielinski said.

    But TIA Executive Vice President Roy Littlefield said he feared the NTSB and NHTSA would try to force the inefficient, paper-based registration system of the 1970s back down the throats of independent tire dealers. That system ended when Congress passed the Surface Transportation Act of 1982.

    The 50 largest independent tire dealerships have the same 100 percent registration rate as company-owned stores, according to Littlefield.

    “I can't believe this industry thinks that the best solution to this problem is to hand it over to a government agency,” he said. “This is 2015, not 1982. We have technology that works. To go back to that archaic system would be a disaster.”

    Sean Kane, founder and president of Rehoboth, Mass.-based Safety Research & Strategies Inc., agreed with Littlefield that a return to the old mandatory registration system would be both inefficient and an unfair burden on independent dealers.

    “The most important part of the report is its recommendations on electronic systems,” Kane said. “Without up-to-date technology, none of it will work. A manual system would be fraught with error.”

    Related Articles
    Registration, recalls are top NTSB topics
    NHTSA pledges improved scrutiny of auto makers, suppliers
    NTSB schedules hearing on tire safety report
    Transportation bill heads to Congress for vote
    Peterbilt recalls trucks that can exceed speed rating of front tires
    Hankook recalls nearly 47,000 tires
    GM, Maserati receive grants of inconsequential noncompliance
    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Rubber News wants to hear from its readers. If you want to express your opinion on a story or issue, email your letter to Editor Bruce Meyer at [email protected].

    Most Popular
    1
    EPA targets hazardous emissions from tire rubber mixing
    2
    Meet the world's top 5 tire makers
    3
    Kumho, Synthos partner on neodymium-butadiene rubber
    4
    Goodyear names North America commercial business VP
    5
    On putting forth a clear vision: 5 questions with Conti's Andreas Gerstenberger
    SIGN UP FOR NEWSLETTERS
    EMAIL ADDRESS

    Please enter a valid email address.

    Please enter your email address.

    Please verify captcha.

    Please select at least one newsletter to subscribe.

    Get our newsletters

    Staying current is easy with Rubber News delivered straight to your inbox, free of charge.

    Subscribe Today

    Subscribe to Rubber News to get the best coverage and leading insights in the industry.

    SUBSCRIBE
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • Twitter

    MISSION

    To serve companies in the global rubber product industry by delivering news, industry insights, opinions and technical information.

    Contact Us

    2291 Riverfront Pkwy, Suite 1000
    Cuyahoga Falls,
    OH 44221

    Customer Service:
    877-320-1726

    Resources
    • About Us
    • Digital Edition
    • Staff
    • Advertise
    • Order Reprints
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    • Terms of Service
    • Careers
    • Ad Choices
    • Sitemap
    Partner Sites
    • Tire Business
    • European Rubber Journal
    • Plastics News
    • Urethanes Technology
    • Automotive News
    • Crain Brands
    Copyright © 1996-2023. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Tire
      • Airless Tires
      • Non-Tire
      • More News
        • Automotive
        • Executive Action
        • Government/Legal
        • Sustainability
        • Blogs
          • Products
          • Wacky World of Rubber
      • Suppliers
      • Silicone
      • Latex
      • Technical Notebooks
      • Opinion
      • Online Exclusive
      • Special Reports
        • PFAS
        • Best Places to Work
        • War in Ukraine
        • International Tire Exhibition & Conference
        • Women Breaking the Mold
    • Rubber Division IEC
    • Custom
      • Sponsored Content
      • White Papers
    • Resources
      • Directory
      • Classifieds & Mold Mart
    • Data
    • Events
      • RN Events
        • International Tire Exhibition & Conference (ITEC)
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
      • RN Livestreams/Webinars
      • Industry Events
      • Past Events
      • Rubber News M&A Live
      • PFAS Live
      • Ask the Expert
    • Advertise
    • DIGITAL EDITION