BILL ANALYSIS
AB 496
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 14, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS
Mary Hayashi, Chair
AB 496 (Davis) - As Amended: March 24, 2009
SUBJECT : Tire age degradation: consumer disclosure.
SUMMARY : Requires a tire retailer to disclose a tire's
manufacture date upon sale, and requires a consumer to initial a
statement that they have received such information.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires tire dealers to disclose the age of each tire, new or
used, in a written statement at the time of sale, and for the
customer to initial the statement.
2)Requires tire dealers to retain sale documents and the
disclosure form for at least three years.
3)Requires a tire dealer to provide a written disclosure to the
customer prior to the sale or installation of any tire about
the risk associated with tire age in English, Spanish,
Chinese, Tagalog, Vietnamese, and Korean, as specified.
4)Provides that the disclosure is not admissible against the
plaintiff in a civil action for product liability or personal
injury.
5)Requires the tire dealer to provide a clear written disclosure
to the customer on the length of the remaining factory
warranty on any new or used tire sold.
6)Specifies that each violation is subject to a fine of two
hundred fifty dollars ($250).
7)Allows any customer who purchased a new or used tire from a
tire retailer and did not receive the required written
disclosures prior to the sale or installation of a tire to
bring a civil action in court.
8)Provides that if the person bringing the civil action is the
prevailing party, he or she shall be awarded attorney's fees
and costs by the court.
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9)Defines "tire dealer" to include any retail tire outlet and
any commercial retailer of any vehicle equipped with tires.
10) Defines "tire" shall include both new and used tires.
11) Does not apply to the private sale of used tires included
as part of a sale of a used vehicle.
12) Makes legislative findings and declarations.
EXISTING LAW provides for the establishment and enforcement of
various product safety standards for consumer products,
including, but not limited to, specified warning labels and the
prohibited sale of hazardous materials.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown. This bill is keyed non-fiscal.
COMMENTS :
Purpose of the bill . According to the author's office, "As
tires age, they experience chemical degradation and become
brittle, leading to potential catastrophic tire tread
separations. Currently, nearly all vehicle manufacturers have
adopted a six-year policy warning that tires should be removed
from service after six years, regardless of tread depth or use.
Unfortunately, these warnings are inconspicuously buried in the
depths of several-hundred-page owner's manuals. Consumer
disclosure is an important step to prevent tragedies that
continue to occur when aged tires fail catastrophically."
Background . The U.S. Department of Transportation's (DOT)
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) sets and
enforces motor vehicle safety standards, and uses education and
research to reduce deaths, injuries, and economic losses
resulting from motor vehicle crashes. NHTSA awards grants to
states to help them organize, develop, and implement highway
safety programs. The NHTSA has conducted multi-year research on
the aging of tires used on light vehicles (passenger cars, light
trucks, and vans) and evaluated several accelerated tire aging
methods to determine their relative effectiveness. A summary of
these findings and recommendations were documented in a report
to Congress in August 2007.
According to the NHTSA report, tire aging refers to the
reduction or loss in a tire's material properties, which over
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time leads to a reduction of performance capabilities. From
1994 to 2004, NHTSA estimates that about 400 fatalities annually
may be attributed to tire failures of all types. Tire failures
can be caused by a number of factors such as under- or
over-inflation of tires, overloading of vehicles, road hazards,
improper maintenance, structural defects, improper installation,
and tire aging.
Tire aging is caused by the effect of heat and oxygen
interacting with the tire's material properties, and results in
oxidation. This process, known as thermo-oxidative degradation,
is accelerated by higher temperatures and is a contributing
factor in certain tire failures, such as tread separation. Tread
separation results from a reduction in peel (adhesion) strength
between the steel belts, an increase in hardness of most rubber
components, a loss of the rubber components' ability to stretch,
increased crack growth rates, and a reduction in tire cycles to
failure in fatigue tests. The loss of a tire's elasticity can
cause it to become dry and brittle inside, without the
appearance of visible signs of degradation. So, while tires
that have never been used before look brand new, they can be
fatally dangerous because the tire treads can, without warning,
suddenly peel off. The NHTSA's study of tires in Arizona found
that tire degradation accelerates in hotter climates. NHTSA's
analysis of data provided by a large insurance company for the
years 2002 through 2006 revealed that while 27% of its policy
holders were from Texas, California, Louisiana, Florida, and
Arizona, 77% of its tire claims came from these states and 85%
of these were for tires over six years old. Some manufacturers,
such as Ford Motors, have taken voluntary measures to retire old
tires that are at least six years old.
In its report, NHTSA states that further research on tire aging
is needed in order to decide what further steps, if any, should
be taken to address safety issues related to tire aging, and
maintains that it is unable to isolate tire aging for motor
vehicle crashes because tire age is not coded in most crash
databases.
Since 1971, tire manufacturers have been required to place a DOT
identification code on the sidewall of a tire. The code begins
with the letters "DOT" and indicates that the tire meets all
federal standards. The next two numbers or letters represent
the plant where the tire was manufactured, and the last four
numbers represent the week and year the tire was built. For
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example, the numbers 3197 means the 31st week of 1997. The
other numbers are marketing codes used at the manufacturer's
discretion. This information is used to contact consumers if a
tire defect requires a recall.
Support . According to the sponsor, Safety Research &
Strategies, Inc., "Tire age is an important factor in
maintaining a safe vehicle. While vehicle and tire
manufacturers have issued various guidelines, consumers are
largely unaware of tire age as it is encoded in the Tire
Identification Number (a.k.a. DOT number) in a manner that is
inconsistent with other standard methods of dating. Requiring
disclosure of tire age by dealers will greatly assist motorists
in discerning whether the tires that are being sold are in fact
reasonably new and whether they are within the recommended
manufacturer guidelines."
Patrick James of the American Center for Van and Tire Safety
based in Knoxville, TN, writes, "In July 2007, my ten-year old
daughter was killed in a single vehicle van rollover accident
when the left rear tire of the van lost its tread. The tire had
recently been installed on the van by a tire retailer. It was
the original "spare tire" on the van and had never been in
service. Unfortunately, although it appeared "new", it was 13
years old. This fact was never mentioned by the service
technician. Had the technician pointed out the tire age, it
would not have been installed and the tragic accident likely
would never have happened."
The American Federation of State, County, and Municipal
Employees writes, "Driving on aged tires creates a hazard to the
driver, passengers, and other cars on the road. By requiring
the dealer to disclose the age of tires sold, the consumer has
the ability to make a conscientious decision as to whether the
tire is safe."
Oppose . According to the Les Schwab Tire Centers, "Two of the
three automobile manufactures in the USA have adopted a policy
recommending their customers consider replacing the tires if
they have been in use for six years. These are all
recommendations probably because very little scientific data had
shed much light on the subject. Credit to NBC National News in
its coverage of this very issue for stating they too had found
no scientific data to support whether or not, for instance, a
six-year-old tire was any less safe that a newer production? AB
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496 is an idea that is ahead of the scientific research
community.
"The bill would require these written disclosers in various
languages. We are also opposed to this section of the bill. As
a matter of precedence, in-language has been required by the
state when there can be demonstrated the existence of a
significant public interest such as: automobile sales and
leases, consumer credit agreements, retail installment agreement
contracts, rental agreements, certain types of loans and legal
service contracts. The replacement of a $60 flat tire hardly
meets the public interest needs threshold to establish an
in-language requirement at this level of retail purchase.
"The bill would not allow such a notice about tire aging given
to the customer and acknowledged by the customer to ever be
admissible in court if the customer becomes a plaintiff suing
someone for product liability or personal injury. This, of
course, appears to be a section tailor made for the plaintiff
attorneys throughout the state."
According to the California Tire Dealers, "The bill's
requirements also impact the sale of good "used" tires in
California, where 2 million to 3 million are sold annually,
mostly in low-income communities. Used tires may be 3, 4, or 5
years old, but are name-brand tires that someone can buy for $15
or $20 rather than $100 or more for a new one. Because they are
used, there is no manufacturers' warranty, but there is also no
evidence that these tires are dangerous after six years."
Suggested clarifying amendments . The author's office has
indicated that they would like to make clarifying amendments in
the following manner:
On page 3, line 22, strike "age" and insert "date of
manufacture".
On page 4, line 25, after "awarded" insert "reasonable".
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Safety Research & Strategies, Inc. (sponsor)
American Center for Van and Tire Safety
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American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees
(ASFCME)
Consumer Attorneys of California
Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety
Opposition
California New Car Dealers Association
California Retailers Association
California Tire Dealers Association
Civil Justice Association of California
Les Schwab Tire Centers
Rubber Manufacturers Association
Analysis Prepared by : Joanna Gin / B. & P. / (916) 319-3301