CARB submits final tyre pressure rule

ERJ staff report (TB)

Sacramento, California - California´s Air Resources Board (CARB) has filed its final rule regarding underinflated tyres to the state's Office of Administrative Law (OAL).

The rule applies to all of California's automotive service providers and requires them to check tyre pressure on every vehicle they service. Its stated purpose is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles operating with underinflated tyres by inflating them to the recommended tyre pressure rating.

The standard - in its third revision - was resubmitted to the OAL after the first two versions did not meet the state's guidelines for clarity and necessity.

The regulation details a list of requirements and compliance deadlines automotive service providers must adhere to by Sept. 1, according to the Automotive Service Association (ASA), including:

• Check and inflate each vehicle's tyres to the recommended tyre pressure rating, with air or nitrogen, as appropriate, at the time of performing any automotive maintenance or repair service;
• Indicate on the vehicle service invoice that a tyre inflation service was completed and the tyre pressure measurements after the services were performed;
• Perform the tyre pressure service using a tyre pressure gauge with a total permissible error no greater than ± 2 pounds per square inch (psi);
• Have access to a tyre inflation reference that is current within three years of publication; and
• Keep a copy of the vehicle service invoice for a minimum of three years and make the vehicle service invoice available to CARB, or its authorised representative, upon request.

The full text of the requirements and compliance deadlines, along with text of the adopted regulations and materials submitted to the OAL, can be viewed at the ASA's TakingTheHill website.

From Tire Business (A Crain publication)

Read the full text of the bill here