The California Air Resources Board (CARB) has filed its final rule regarding underinflated tires 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 tire pressure on every vehicle they service. Its stated purpose is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles operating with underinflated tires by inflating them to the recommended tire 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 tires to the recommended tire 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 tire inflation service was completed and the tire pressure measurements after the services were performed;
* Perform the tire pressure service using a tire pressure gauge with a total permissible error no greater than ± 2 pounds per square inch (psi);
* Have access to a tire 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 authorized 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 website, www.TakingTheHill.com.