US advances tyre aging bill

Rubber & Plastics News

Washington-US Senator Mike DeWine, R-Ohio, has introduced a package of five highway safety bills, including one requiring tyre retailers to disclose the month and year in which the tyres they sell are produced.

Also, the bill would require the National Academy of Sciences to do a definitive study of how both used and unused tyres age, with an eye toward discovering the point at which an aged tire becomes unsafe.

The tyre industry has been working on the legislation with DeWine, and industry representatives said they look forward to continuing to work with him. “We regard this as a work in progress, and so does he,” said Isabel Jasinowski, Goodyear vice president of government affairs.

DeWine said he was “cautiously optimistic” that a highway safety bill would pass Congress this year, and that his measures would be part of the larger bill.