TIA to fight RMA's tire registration proposal

BOWIE, Md. (Dec. 10, 2014) — The Tire Industry Association (TIA) is prepared to fight a Rubber Manufacturers Association (RMA) proposal to reinstate a mandatory national tire registration program.

During a panel on tire registration and recalls at the Passenger Vehicle Tire Safety Symposium held by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) in Washington, D.C., the RMA cited low registration rates of tires sold by independent retailers as the reason behind the proposal.

Kevin Rohlwing, TIA senior vice president of training, participated on the same panel and called for a collective effort to educate consumers on the importance of registering tires. Mr. Rohlwing pointed out that the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA), RMA and tire manufacturers have made little to no effort to educate consumers and that low registration rates are more reflective of consumer apathy than the lack of compliance on the part of independent tire dealers.

“We are incredibly disappointed that RMA supports a legislative solution to the problem of low tire registration rates rather than educational [solutions],” said Roy Littlefield, TIA executive vice president.

“TIA has been working with RMA on a number of legislative issues like tire repair and used tires over the past few years, but there have been no discussions related to mandatory tire registration.

“We had talked about working together to educate and improve voluntary numbers, so it was a total shock to hear that they are proposing legislation over education.”

Mr. Rohlwing's presentation drew comparisons with NHTSA's system for registering child restraints, where the retailer does not play any role nor bear any responsibilities with regards to the process. He questioned why tire retailers are treated differently and manufacturers are allowed to shift the burden onto the back of small businesses.

He also cautioned the NTSB to consider all of the factors related to the low rate of tire registration before making any recommendations to NHTSA.

Current tire registration laws require tire retailers to provide customers with the Tire Identification Number (TIN) on a card so consumers can register their tires.

The RMA's proposal for mandatory tire registration is a recommendation, but TIA said it is stepping up efforts to promote voluntary registration and educate consumers on the importance of registering their tires.

TIA is working on a “Tire Safety Starts with Registration” video, to be released in early 2015, as the next addition to its consumer education video series. TIA said it will follow up and submit additional comments to the docket regarding the attempt by the tire manufacturers to place the burden for tire registration on retailers.

“It's important for the industry to recognize that while the RMA's solution to the tire registration problem is to legislate rather than educate, they took the reverse approach when commenting on tire service life,” Mr. Rohlwing noted.

“During the panel on tire aging, RMA repeatedly defended their ‘educate not legislate' approach, citing the lack of scientific data that proves legislation is necessary. Interestingly enough, there is a similar lack of data regarding the number of retailers who supply the registration cards in accordance with the law and the percentage of consumers who follow thru with the registration process.”

Congressional action will be required to overturn voluntary registration in favor of mandatory registration, TIA said. The association is hosting a Federal Lobby Day on Feb. 5 to meet with representatives on Capitol Hill to discuss the pending national Highway Bill. The issue of tire registration will now be added to the agenda, it said, the Bowie-based trade group said.