BILL ANALYSIS
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|Hearing Date:July 13, 2009 |Bill No:AB |
| |496 |
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SENATE COMMITTEE ON BUSINESS, PROFESSIONS
AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Senator Gloria Negrete McLeod, Chair
Bill No: AB 496Author:Davis
As Amended: June 29, 2009Fiscal: No
SUBJECT: Tire age degradation: consumer disclosure.
SUMMARY: Enacts provisions requiring a tire retailer to disclose a
tire's manufacture date upon sale, and requires a consumer to
acknowledge receipt of such information by initialing and dating a
statement to that effect.
Existing law:
1)Provides for the establishment and enforcement of various product safety
standards for consumer products, including, among others, requiring
specified warning labels for water heaters, and prohibiting the sale
of contaminated toys and lead-tainted tableware.
This bill:
1) Requires a tire dealer to disclose the date of manufacture of
each passenger or light truck tire in writing prior to, or at the
point of, the sale or prior to the installation of that tire.
2) Requires sale documents for tires to include a statement as to
the date of manufacture of the tires, next to which the customer
would be required to initial and date prior to, or at the point of,
the sale.
3) Requires a tire dealer to provide a clear and conspicuous
written disclosure to the customer prior to, or at the point of, the
sale or prior to the installation of any tire about the risk
associated with tire age.
4)Exempts the following:
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a) Private sale of used tires.
b) Sale or lease of any new or used vehicles, or the sale of
tires by a motor vehicle dealer whose primary business is the
sale or services of motor vehicles.
5) Provides that any violation of the state provisions is subject
to a civil penalty of $250 per violation.
6) Defines "tire dealer" to include any retail tire outlet and any
commercial retailer of any vehicle equipped with tires.
7) Defines "tire" as both new and used tires.
8) Makes legislative findings and declarations.
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown. This bill has been keyed "non-fiscal" by
Legislative Counsel.
COMMENTS:
1.Purpose. This bill is sponsored by Safety Strategies & Research
Inc. , to provide consumer disclosure on the age of passenger or
light truck tires. The Sponsor indicates that because tires
experience chemical degradation and become brittle due to the
passage of time and other factors, it has been suggested that that
such wear leads to potential catastrophic tire tread separations.
While the date of manufacture of passenger or light truck tires can
be determined by checking the "DOT" identification code, which tire
manufacturers have been required to place on the sidewall of the
tire since 1971, the Sponsor argues that a consumer would not likely
be able to understand the number unless he or she had prior
knowledge about how to decode it. The Author maintains that
consumer disclosure is the primary function of this bill and offers
an "important step in preventing tragedies that continue to occur
when aged tires fail catastrophically."
2.Background. The federal Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient
Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) of 2005
directed the United States (U.S.) Secretary of Transportation to
transmit a report to Congress by August 2007, on research conducted
to address tire aging, and provide a summary of findings and
recommendations. The U.S. Department of Transportation's National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) conducted a multi-year
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research program, including a field study, on the aging of tires
used on light vehicles (passenger cars, light trucks, and vans),
which evaluated several accelerated tire aging methods to determine
their relative effectiveness in replicating the characteristics of
tires undergoing aging in the field.
According to the NHTSA report, tire aging refers to the reduction or
loss in a tire's material properties, which over time leads to a
reduction of its performance capabilities. Heat and oxygen are two
environmental conditions that tires are exposed to during their use,
which can adversely influence their material properties, and
eventually their durability in service.
The NHTSA field study found that tires continue to degrade
throughout their service lives, whether used on the road or in the
full-size spare position. The study also showed structural
degradation of the tires in terms of internal cracks and separations
resulting from the tires being used in service. This internal
degradation and damage was nearly all internal to the tire and
likely impossible to detect from a visual inspection alone. The
effects of material property degradation and structural degradation
together reduced the performance of tires in laboratory roadwheel
tests with increasing age and mileage of the tire.
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 Motor Company,
have taken voluntary measures to retire old tires that are at least
six years old.
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From 1994 to 2004, NHTSA estimated that about 400 fatalities,
annually, may have been 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, and improper installation
in addition to tire aging, so it is difficult to estimate, based on
crash statistics currently available, how many crashes are caused
specifically by tire aging. Also noteworthy is that the NHTSA
report conceded not knowing whether tire aging is a significant
factor in tire related safety.
At the study's end, NHTSA concluded that the age of a tire, along
with factors such as average air temperature and inflation, plays
some role in the likelihood of its failure, and that a refined
oven-aging method can realistically approximate the effects of
aging. However, NHTSA also reported that taking additional steps in
research is necessary before it has sufficient understanding of the
aging phenomenon to support any possible safety standard or consumer
recommendations on the issue and maintains that it is unable to
isolate tire aging for motor vehicle crashes because tire age is not
coded in most crash databases. Lastly, the study mentioned the
necessity of performing cost and benefit analyses before making any
regulatory decisions.
Other data from Europe, particularly derived from two independent
studies that were conducted in Germany during the 1980's, concluded
that tires fail at a greater rate after six years and recommended
manufacturers alert consumers in an effort to prevent potential
crashes. It was following these German studies that several
European vehicle manufacturers including BMW, Audi, Volkswagen, and
later Toyota, Mercedez-Benz, Nissan Europe and GM Europe began
warning consumers in owner's manuals that tires older than six years
should only be used in an emergency and replaced as soon as
possible. American vehicle manufacturers such as Ford Motor Company
and Chrysler added similar language to their owner manuals in 2005.
In the absence of any existing database documenting tire age in
crashes in which a tire was a causal factor, Safety Research &
Strategies, Inc. (SRS) conducted original research which identified
167 incidents in which tires older than six years experienced tread/
belt separations- most resulting in loss-of-control and rollover
crashes. These incidents were the cause of 139 fatalities and 192
injuries.
3.Related Legislation. AB 323 (Yamada, 2009) requires auto body
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repair shops to display, at a conspicuous place, as specified, a
sign meeting certain specifications that advises customers, among
other things, about automobile tire degradation. It would
additionally require an automobile tire retailer, prior to the
purchase or installation of an automobile tire in California, to
disclose in writing to the customer the date each tire purchased or
installed was manufactured. The bill failed passage in the Assembly
Committee on Business and Professions and was granted
reconsideration on April 21, 2009. The Committee has postponed the
hearing of this bill.
4.Arguments in Support. In arguing that a tire's age leads to
potential catastrophic tire tread separations, the Author points to
the above mentioned statistics reported by SRS. Further, the Author
states that while nearly all vehicle manufacturers currently
distribute a six-year policy warning that tires should be removed
from service after six years, regardless of tread depth, these
warnings are "inconspicuously buried in the depths of
several-hundred-page owner's manuals."
The Consumer Attorneys of California (CAOC) write, "AB 496's
provisions requiring that tire purchasers be given information about
each tire's age prior to installation is a crucial consumer safety
protection measure. CAOC members unfortunately know first-hand the
tragedies that occur with tire blow-outs and subsequent rollover
accidents. The age of a tire can greatly indicate tire safety and
the consumer deserves to have this information for his or her
family. In a 2007 report to Congress, the NHTSA acknowledged that
'tire aging is a serious safety issue.' NHTSA also reported that
insurance statistics from a number of states, including California,
showed 84 percent of tire-related claims for 'tires over 6 years
old.' Since 3005, major tire manufacturers have issued Technical
Bulletins advising against the use of tires that are six to ten
years old, but most consumers are unaware of this information.
AB 496 will greatly enhance safety in this area."
5.Arguments in Opposition. According to the California Chamber of
Commerce (Cal Chamber), the written disclosure statement required by
AB 496 is not objective but would rather have the effect of
establishing a legal presumption in the law, that 6-year-old tires
are inherently dangerous, though this is not supported by conclusive
scientific evidence. Cal Chamber believes this may result in
unnecessary new tire purchases by consumers and needless additional
tire waste in landfills. Moreover, AB 496 may create unreasonable
new liability exposure by essentially reversing the standard of
proof for defective tires rather than the plaintiff having to prove
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that a given tire is defective, the defendant will have to prove
that the tire is safe. Finally, Cal Chamber believes that AB 496
will result in unnecessary new lawsuits against tire dealers, many
of which are small businesses, without added benefit to consumers;
they propose that a better approach would be to allow the Bureau of
Automotive Repair to investigate and report on the issue of
appropriate tire warnings, in conjunction with affected industries.
The 70 Individual Tire Dealers who are members of the California
Tire Dealers Association point to a May 27 letter issued by the
Rubber Manufacturers Association (RMA) to Assembly member Davis, in
which the RMA warns, "The bill would require that tire dealers
provide confusing and misleading information to consumers about tire
age and performance."
The California Tire Dealers Associations - North and South
(CTDA), argues that
AB 496 will decimate the sale of used tires in California and
put some tire dealers out of business. According to CTDA, every
year in California, about two million perfectly good, but used,
tires are diverted from landfills. Families with limited
incomes can buy a used tire for a fraction of the cost of a new
tire. However, used tires may be 4 or 5 years old. A warning
that tires over 6 years old should be replaced, regardless of
tread depth, will effectively put an end to the used tire market
in the state. The CTDA is composed of mostly "mom and pop" tire
dealers that sell used tires as well as new tires, but with the
economic slowdown their customers are demanding more and more
used tires. AB 496's "warning" will dampen demand for used
tires, possibly keeping consumers from getting rid of their own
worn and dangerous tires. Flea markets, where no warnings are
required, will become the places to go to buy used tires.
There, the quality of used tires is questionable and tires are
mounted by amateurs. Additionally, the CTDA argues that AB 496
makes it likely that tire dealers will be on the receiving end
of tire aging lawsuits for whatever reason a tire fails:
underinflation, load, irregular tire rotation, road hazards,
etc. They raise questions as to whether a tire installer has to
warn a customer anytime there is a tire over 6 years old, such
as during a tire rotation or in balancing tires, and whether
tire shops will subsequently be subject to litigation if the
tire fails in the future. Lastly, CTDA contends that there is
no study that purports tires are dangerous after six years and,
therefore, the six-year benchmark for determining unsafe tires
is not based on science.
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6.Policy Issues :
a. Should additional disclosure requirements be placed on tire
dealers without applying the same standards to sales of tires
made by auto vehicle dealers? As indicated above, AB 496 exempts
the private sale of used tires as well as the sale or lease of
any new or used vehicles, or the sale of tires by a motor vehicle
dealer whose primary business is the sale or service of motor
vehicles. The 70 individual tire dealers opposed to this measure
contest the exemption of sales of tires by auto dealers by
arguing that car dealers compete directly with tire dealers in
the replacement tire market. They believe that this provision
will therefore give car dealers a major competitive advantage
over tire dealers. They argue that the bill implicitly
acknowledges that tire aging is not a serious hazard because it
assumes that the same brand and size of a tire sold by a car
dealer or a tire dealer has the same aging characteristics, and,
therefore, if it is not deemed hazardous for the car dealer it is
equally unlikely to be hazardous if sold by a tire dealer.
b. Is there sufficient scientific evidence to establish the
"six-year" benchmark for determining tires safety as proposed by
this bill? Although several studies cited by the opposing sides
have shown a link between tire aging and rubber degradation,
their conclusions seem to be in conflict as to whether consumer
recommendations regarding the particular age at which a tire is
deemed dangerous should be made at this point in time.
NOTE : Double-referral to Senate Judiciary Committee (second).
SUPPORT AND OPPOSITION:
Support:
Safety Strategies & Research Inc (Sponsor)
Consumer Attorneys of California
Automobile Club of Southern California
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Opposition:
Big O Tires
Bridgestone Retail Operations, LLC - North Orange County District
Bridgestone Retail Operations, LLC - San Bernardino County
California Chamber of Commerce
California Department of Consumer Affairs
California Retailers Association
California Tire Dealers Associations - North and South
Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company
Les Schwab Tire Centers
Reliable Tire Inc
Rubber Manufacturers Association
Tire Industry Association
Numerous Individual Tire Dealers
Consultant:Yuliya Zeynalova