The Department of Transportation has proposed changes to heavy-duty truck tire safety standards, the first such proposal in 37 years.
Proposed steps include a more stringent endurance test, a new high speed-test for some heavy truck tires and required labels with a tire’s maximum speed rating, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in a Sept. 29 Federal Register notice.
The proposal was required under the Transportation Recall Enhancement Accountability and Documentation Act, commonly called the TREAD Act, which became law in 2000.
The rule would affect tire standards for commercial vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating of at least 10,000 pounds. NHTSA is a DOT agency.
For the past eight years, NHTSA has been studying truck tires while it decided what rules to propose. For example, the test speed for tires will be increased between 25% and 67%, depending on tires’ maximum operating speed,
To view the proposal and/or submit a comment, visit www.regulations.gov and enter Docket No. 2010-24347. (U.S. government website.) Comments are due by Nov. 29.
