NHTSA Issues Tyre Efficiency Programme Final Rule

In the US, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has issued a final rule regarding a proposed tyre efficiency consumer information programme. This document establishes the test procedures for tyre manufacturers to use in a new consumer information programme intended to provide consumers with comparative information on fuel efficiency, safety and durability when purchasing replacement passenger car tyres. The programme, when fully implemented, will offer information both at the point of sale and online.

“The collective effects of the choices consumers make when they buy tyres are matters of public interest and concern,” states the NHTSA in the document’s summary. “Consumers currently have little, if any, convenient way of determining the effect of tyre choices on fuel economy or the potential tradeoffs between tyre fuel efficiency and tyre safety and durability.”

The prompting to establish a programme to better inform consumers about tyre fuel efficiency came from the United States Congress, reports the NHTSA. “The 240 million passenger cars and light trucks in the United States consume about 135 billion gallons of motor fuel annually,” comments the NHTSA document. “Finding ways to reduce this energy consumption is a national goal for reasons ranging from ensuring economic and national security to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving local air quality.”

In a document accompanying the final rule, the NHTSA states that 200 million replacement tyres are sold in the US each year. Of this, an estimated 19 million tyres (mainly light truck and winter tyres) will be exempt from the programme, leaving 181 million tyres. The NHTSA estimates that 40 million of these already have good rolling resistance properties, which leaves some 141 million tyres sold annually in which rolling resistance could be decreased.

“The tyre fuel efficiency consumer information programme will require tyre manufacturers to rate their replacement tyres for fuel efficiency, safety, and durability based on test procedures specified in this final rule,” the NHTSA explains. “These test procedures address three aspects of tyre performance: rolling resistance, wet traction and tread wear life. Comparing the three different ratings for different replacement tyres will enable consumers to see how different replacement tyres can affect the fuel economy they are getting from their vehicles. This will also enable consumers to see the tradeoffs they may be facing between fuel efficiency, safety, and durability, and how the balance of these factors may differ from tyre to tyre. Providing information regarding all three types of performance will help to ensure that no single aspect is given disproportionate attention.

Although the final rule has been published, the content and format of its associated consumer education programme is still under development and the NHTSA says it intends to conduct additional consumer testing. When commenting on lead times for tyre ratings, the agency comments that “because tyres with 15 and 16 inch rim sizes make up more than 22 per cent of sales in the replacement passenger car tyre market, NHTSA believes there will be a significant benefit for requiring these most popular tyre sizes to be rated as soon as possible.”

There are two potential sets of costs attached to the scheme, the NHTSA states – costs to set up the consumer information programme and costs to improve the rolling resistance of tyres. Following the start-up, annual programme costs (are estimated to be US$5.1 million per year. Cost per tyre to improve rolling resistance is estimated to range from $2 to $6 per tyre and average around $3 per tyre. The $3 per tyre is anticipated to bring a five to ten per cent improvement in rolling resistance. The NHTSA comments that if one per cent of the target tyre population (1.4 million tyres) decreased their rolling resistance by five to ten per cent, annual tyre costs would equal $4.23 million. The combined annual cost of the programme (after start-up) would be $9.4 million. Start up program costs, including first year testing costs, but not counting the cost of improving tyres, are estimated to be $34.8 million dollars.