Misconceptions of Good Used Tires
(Organizations, Rules, and Liabilities/Laws)
The Tire Industry Association & National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
The Tire Industry Association -TIA – (www.TireIndustry.org) is the organization that gives there “recommendations” for safety on the road in regards to tires and tire repairs.
To be clear this is simply an organization that gives their recommendations on tire safety but is not a legal organization that holds any bearing in a law of court. In regards to their relationship with National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) they simply submit comments on behalf of their members in regards to proposed rule-making.
So clearly TIA is somewhat of a lobby group that would drive policies for the NHTSA. Their officers and board of directors are owners and presidents of various tire industry groups and businesses. This is blatantly seen in their recommendation of tires taken directly from their website enclosed here.
Their claim is, in order to maintain safety, new tires of the exact size must be purchased. Well we all know this to not be true and clearly a push to sell new tires. The used tire industry sells millions of tires a year as well as selling those tires in comparable sizing that does not affect the vehicles.
Patches & Plugs
Back to the TIA.
Their recommendation is that tires are not safe for use if the tire just has a plug or just a patch however many companies sell roadside kits that simply plug the tire to allow a consumer to continue driving.
This is taken directly from their website.
While this isn’t a permanent solution this is certainly something that can get a customer out of a bind as well as allow them to continue their travel until they can get a proper patch/plug put into the tire.
This seems unbalanced in my opinion because if just putting a plug was unsafe for any use there wouldn’t be a whole industry devoted to roadside kits as a safe solution for temporary repair.
Type of Repairs (Where they can be – Laws and Liabilities)
Now we all know that there is a major difference between a recommendation and a law. The NHTSA states nowhere on their website any laws against patches on specific areas. The TIA has even clearly stated there is no law against this on their website.
Enclosed if a screenshot taken from their website
The recommendation is that patches should be away from the edge and never on the sidewall. This is based on manufacturers recommendations due to liabilities.
What it boils down to is liabilities. It’s not about the million tires with edge patches that will be used without a problem. It’s about that one person that has a poor edge patch put on and has a major incident. This can happen but an improper installation of a new tire can happen as well and lead to a major incident.
DOT Dates
Now let’s move onto the next source of contention within the good used tire industry.
There is no documented information stating that running a tire past the “industry recommendation” of 6 years is illegal. Now there are lots of websites stating this to be true however no legal body has claimed this written into law. The thought process is that the oils leave the product over time and can put the tire at risk of use however this is a blanket statement.
What’s not taken into account is how the tires are stored. Many classic vehicles have the same tires on them from when they were purchased. These are generally kept indoors and the weight of the vehicle removed as they are on a lift. This can extend the life of a tire by decades as a warm climate and no pressure on it can allow it to last much longer.
Conclusion
The good used tire industry word-wide is a multi-billion dollar industry. It will always be in conflict with the new tire industry for profits alone. They are two competing bodies. The only difference is one of them is environmentally friendly. The ability to re-use a tire and increase it’s longevity before it is either thrown away or recycled in key. Anyone that is contributing to the good used tire industry is contributing to the environment.
Thoughts to spin around.
