Tire tread separations took center
stage in 2000 when the Firestone / Ford debacle surfaced. Investigations into this tragedy led to
findings that all of the recalled tires met federal safety standards, which
were originally written decades ago when radial tires were still a rarity. Following the recalls of millions of
defective tires, Congress passed the TREAD Act, which required the National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to promulgate new regulations in
order to prevent another widespread tragedy.
In addition to tread
separation defects, one of the areas of tire safety that is a particular
interest to SRS is "aged" tire failures (see below).
June 2, 2008 NHTSA Issues Consumer
Advisory
SRS
efforts lead to NHTSA
Consumer Advisory warning that aged tires, regardless of tread, are subject
to greater stress increasing the likelihood of catastrophic failure. SRS has called on the agency to issue an
advisory since 2004. “While this doesn’t
solve the tire aging problem, it is a significant step toward improving information
available to consumers” said Sean Kane, president of SRS.
As
of June 2, 2008 SRS has documented 159 incidents in which tires older than six
years experienced tread / belt separations—most resulting in loss-of-control
crashes. These incidents were the cause of 128 fatalities and 168 injuries. We
have also included an additional 10 cases involving tires older than five years
at the time of failure (half of which were more than five-and-a-half years old
at the time of failure). These 10 incidents account for an additional 14
fatalities and 24 injuries. This list
represents incidents that SRS has identified primarily through a survey of
litigation, which is one of the only publicly available sources of these
incidents.
SRS June 2, 2008
Submission to NHTSA Tire Aging Docket
SRS December 20,
2006 Submission to NHTSA Tire Aging Docket
SRS September 28, 2006 Submission to NHTSA Tire Aging Docket (Statistical analysis of the agency’s “Phoenix Tire Dataset”)
SRS May 25, 2005 Submission
to NHTSA Tire Aging Docket
SRS November 5,
2004 Submission to NHTSA Tire Aging Docket
Tires: Aging Dangerously
Tires, like any other
rubber product, have a limited service life regardless of tread depth and
use. The dangers of "aged" tires
is a little known problem outside of the industry and one that is likely the
cause of a significant number of tread separation problems. "Aged" tires are often
unsuspectingly put into service after having served as a spare, stored in
garages or warehouses, or simply used on a vehicle that is infrequently
driven. In many instances these tires
show no visible sign of deterioration, and absent any visible indicators, tires
with adequate tread depth are likely to be put into service regardless of
age.
Tire age can be determined
through decoding of the required DOT number molded into the side of a tire;
however, the DOT date coding is consumer unfriendly and confusing. [Decoding
the DOT Number]
Following the Ford/Firestone
tire investigations in 2000 the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
(NHTSA) began examining tire aging as a factor in tread belt separations and proposed
a tire aging test in 2002 [Docket 2000-8011-19]. However, overwhelming industry opposition and
the lack of an agreed upon aging standard led NHTSA hold further rulemaking and
to begin additional research [June 26, 2003 Final Rule, Docket 03-15400-1]. As a result the agency is currently testing
tires to discern possible test protocols that would ensure tires do not fail
catastrophically before they wear out.
This process is still several years from fruition. Following NHTSA's
decision to commence additional research in 2003, SRS president Sean Kane,
(formerly with Strategic Safety, LLC) began documenting a trend of catastrophic
tire failures in the
One of the most important
documents disclosed to NHTSA regarding the industry knowledge of tire aging is
the British Rubber Manufacturers Association (BRMA), which consists of the same
tire manufacturers who are present in the
"BRMA
members strongly recommend that
unused tyres should not be put into service if they
are over 6 years old and that all tyres should be
replaced 10 years from the date of their manufacture."
It also notes that
environmental conditions like exposure to sunlight and coastal climates, as
well as poor storage and infrequent use accelerate the aging process.
"In
ideal conditions, a tyre may have a life expectancy
that exceeds 10 years from its date of manufacture. However such conditions are rare."
The BRMA document goes on to
say that aging may be identified by small cracks in the tire sidewall, however,
"'[a]geing' may not exhibit any external indications and, since
there is no non destructive test to assess the serviceability of a tyre, even an inspection carried out by a tyre expert may not reveal the extent of any
deterioration."
Further, Kane's comments to
NHTSA disclosed little-known warnings in the owner's manuals of German vehicles
(i.e., Mercedes, BMW, Audi, VW) and
As a result of our continued
research into tire aging, SRS petitioned
NHTSA on November 5, 2004 requesting the agency take three important interim
steps to address the tire age problem.
We requested (1) a Consumer Advisory alerting the public to the hazards,
(2) NHTSA request specific information from the tire and vehicle manufacturers
that will help with further evaluation of the problem, and (3) petitioned to
require a date of manufacture molded in both sides of the tire in a non-coded
fashion.
SRS is continuing to
document the scope and magnitude of the tire aging problem as well as its
investigation into what is known and when it was known about this danger.
Other Tire Aging Developments:
Ford Motor Company added a 6-year
tire replacement recommendation, regardless of tread wear, to its website and
all 2006 owner’s manuals.
DaimlerChrysler acknowledged it too will add a 6-year replacement
recommendation.
In response SRS has
requested Ford, DaimlerChrysler, and the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers
support a NHTSA-issued Consumer Advisory in order to reach a wider
audience.
Tire Recalls and
Tire Safety: The RFID Solution
November 1,
2007
The
current tire recall system designed to alert and capture defective models is
ineffective and outmoded. Despite many
technological advances, consumers trying to identify a defective tire still
rely on a 38-year-old recall system that rarely averages more than a 20 percent
return rate, leaving millions of potentially deadly tires on consumers’
vehicles.
Other important tire
safety issues ranging from aging to counterfeiting can benefit from an improved
identification system. Radio Frequency
Identification tags offers a solution.
June
25, 2007: Safety Research &
Strategies and attorney Jeffrey Killino has urged the
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to issue a Consumer Advisory for
the following steel-belted radial light truck tires manufactured by Hangzhou Zhongce Rubber Co., Ltd, sold under the names
■
LT235/75R-15
■
LT225/75R-16
■
LT235/85R-16
■
LT245/75R-16
■
LT265/75R-16
■
LT31X10.5R-15
According
to Foreign Tire Sales, tires manufactured by
■
Foreign Tire Sales, Union
■
Tireco,
■
Strategic Import Supply, Wayzata
■
Omni United USA, Inc.,
■
Orteck International, Inc.,
■
K&D Tire Wholesalers LLC,
■
Robinson Tire, Laurel Mississippi
Some
of these tires were manufactured without the gum strips, a key safety feature
to preserve the integrity of the belts. The defect came to light after Foreign
Tire Sales appealed to NHTSA for aid in recalling an estimated 450,000 light
truck tires after the company allegedly learned that the manufacturer, the
Hangzhou Zhongce Rubber Company, had left the gum
strips out of the tire. But the number of defective tires could be much higher,
FTS told NHTSA, because
Foreign Tire Sales Defect
and Noncompliance Report
SRS / Jeffrey
Killino June 25, 2007 Letter to NHTSA Requesting a
Consumer Advisory