The US Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) today issued part one of a two-part final rule requiring tyre pressure monitoring systems (TPMSs) in response to a mandate in the Transportation Recall Enhancement, Accountability, and Documentation (TREAD) Act of 2000.
According to a NHTSA research survey, 27% of passenger cars on U.S. roadways are driven with one or more substantially under-inflated tyres. In addition, the survey found that 33% of light trucks (including sport utility vehicles, vans and pickup trucks) are driven with one or more substantially under-inflated tyres.
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The new Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard applies to passenger cars, trucks, multipurpose passenger vehicles, and buses with a gross vehicle weight rating of 10,000 pounds or less, except those vehicles with dual wheels on an axle.
The document establishes two compliance options for the period between 1 November, 2003, and 31 October, 2006. These options are designed to allow vehicle manufacturers to use either of the two types of TPMS currently available – one of which measures the pressure in each tyre, and another which uses a vehicle’s antilock brake system hardware to sense tyre pressure differences by monitoring the speed of tyre revolution.
The second part of this final rule will be issued by 1 March 2005, and will establish performance requirements that will become effective on 1 November, 2006.
In the meantime, the agency will leave the rulemaking docket open for the submission of new data and analyses concerning the performance of TPMSs, including both the systems in the field as well as systems under development.
NHTSA has invited those commenting to substantiate their comments with data and information to the maximum extent possible.
The agency also will conduct a study comparing the tyre pressures of vehicles with no TPMS to the pressures of vehicles with the different systems. The study will give the agency additional information regarding the extent to which these vehicles have tyre pressures closer to the vehicle manufacturer’s recommended inflation pressure than vehicles without a TPMS, and also regarding the extent to which these vehicles have fewer significantly under- inflated tyres.
This will help NHTSA decide on the second part of the rule.
