The Rubber Manufacturers Association announced its support of efforts by states to rid the roadways of unsafe used tires. Indiana, Florida, Georgia, New Jersey, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Texas will consider bans on the sale of unsafe tires this year, according to RMA.
“Safety is the highest priority for the tire industry,” said Dan Zielinski, RMA senior vice president. “Laws to stop the sale of worn out, damaged used tires will help improve highway and motorist safety.”
RMA and its members purchased several examples of unsafe used tires to demonstrate the availability of these tires. Each tire exhibited one or more conditions that are clearly unsafe: worn out, visible damage to the tread or other portions of a tire or; improperly repaired, the association said.
“Any used tire is a risky proposition since it’s impossible to know the service history of a tire used by someone else,” Zielinski said. “But when used tires are sold worn-out, damaged, improperly repaired or have other visibly unsafe conditions, states to need to take action to protect consumers.”
A survey sponsored by RMA found that nearly one in 10 motorists were riding on tires that were purchased used. The association is working to educate policymakers and consumers about the dangers of unsafe used tires and will continue to support policies to ban the sale of such products, it said.
