|
NHTSA to set tire rules
|
 |
July 25, 2001: 2:16 p.m. ET
Federal safety agency to pick one of two tire pressure monitoring systems
By Julie Vallese
|
WASHINGTON (CNN) - Federal safety regulators announced Wednesday the two types of tire-pressure monitoring systems that will compete to be the one required on most new vehicles made after November 2003.
Dashboard low-tire-pressure indicators were mandated by the TREAD Act – the Transportation Recall Enhancement, Accountability, and Documentation Act – passed by Congress last year.
After a 45-day public comment period that will close Sept. 6, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is to decide on a system by Nov. 1. That system will be required in all new passenger cars, light trucks, buses, and multipurpose passenger vehicles with a gross weight of 10,000 pounds or less.
One of the systems under consideration requires four sensors, each in a separate tire. The sensors warn the driver when a tire's pressure has dropped below 20 percent of the manufacturer's recommended cold inflation pressure.
Click here for CNNfn's coverage of the Ford-Firestone tire recall
The second system works with a vehicle's anti-lock braking system, comparing the rotational speed of each wheel with that of the other wheels. As a tire's pressure drops, its relative rotational speed increases. The system alerts a driver when tire pressure dropped below 25 percent of the recommended cold level.
The TREAD act was passed after under-inflation of some Firestone tires on Ford Explorers was linked last year to a number of fatal crashes.
The NHTSA estimates that 49-to-79 deaths and more than 10,000 injuries could be prevented each year if all vehicles were equipped with a tire pressure monitoring system. The agency says properly maintained tires lead to fewer crashes from tire blowouts, fewer immobilized vehicles, and less poor vehicle handling from pressure loss. 
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
