Earl Weener, a member of the NTSB board since mid-2010, will chair the symposium.
“The primary focus is on passenger vehicle and light truck tires, although many issues apply to all pneumatic tires,” the agency said in a press release.
The goal of the symposium, according to the NTSB, is to develop safety recommendations that could reduce the incidence of vehicle accidents related to tire failure.
Among the subjects to be discussed at the symposium are:
- Tire disablement and vehicle dynamics;
- Identifying and analyzing tire disablement-related crashes;
- Tire registration and recall;
- Tire aging and service life;
- Advances in tire technology; and
- Tire maintenance and consumer awareness.
The NTSB has not yet provided a list of speakers for the symposium, which is free and will be open to the public, with no pre-registration required.
The NTSB Conference Center is located at 429 L'Enfant Plaza S.W. in Washington. The agency also will stream the symposium via webcast, and archive the webcast for three months after the symposium dates. It also will issue a transcript of the symposium.
Copies of NTSB meetings may be obtained from the agency website or by calling the NTSB Records Management Division at 202-324-6551 or 800-877-6799.
The NTSB's scheduling of this symposium comes just four months after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) disclosed that it would not seek to create a safety standard based on tire age and about eight months after the board opened an investigation into two fatal February 2014 crashes, one in Louisiana and one in Florida, that allegedly were caused by tire failures.
The legal community is touting the NTSB's announcement as a presage for regulations that would impose age limits on tires.
“We fully expect the NTSB to announce in December that people should replace all tires over six years of age, regardless of the depth of the tread on the tire,” said Rob Ammons of Ammons Law Firm in Houston.
