US won't appeal court decision on tire monitoring

Reuters - September 10, 2003

WASHINGTON, Sept 10 (Reuters) - Regulators will not appeal a federal court decision to throw out a controversial plan for monitoring vehicle tire pressure, a government spokesman said on Wednesday.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has instead approached the industry for updated information on the monitoring technology ordered by Congress to boost safety after the Firestone tire debacle.

"We had to make a decision on how we were going to proceed and sent out letters today to auto manufacturers and to tire monitoring system suppliers," said Rae Tyson, a spokesman for the highway safety agency.

Tyson said the responses due back to NHTSA by Oct. 17 will form the basis for how the government proceeds with new regulation. "We're trying to find out who's doing what and when," Tyson said.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit in New York rejected NHTSA's proposal last month to let automakers choose between two monitoring options, saying the proposal approved in 2002 was arbitrary and did not meet congressional requirements for improved tire safety.

One monitoring system, favored by automakers and White House officials sensitive to the costs of industry regulation, would gauge tire pressure through the performance of the vehicle's anti-lock brake system.

Another option, which is more expensive and favored by regulators, auto safety experts and consumer groups, measures pressure directly in each tire.

A three-year phase-in of tire pressure monitoring was to have started with the 2004 model-year vehicles, which began arriving in showrooms this summer.

Industry will likely pursue a direct monitoring system based on the court ruling. Both systems are already in use separately in some vehicles.

"We're going to work with NHTSA to develop a rule that's responsive to the court order," said Gloria Bergquist, a spokeswoman for the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers (News - Websites). "This could become clearer in the coming months."

Tire manufacturers say they have no preference on monitoring systems. But they have pressed the government to ensure that drivers are given adequate warning when one or more tires are underinflated.

Tire monitoring and other auto safety reforms stemmed from the Firestone saga, which involved deadly crashes linked to blowouts and tread separations. Most of the vehicles involved with Ford (NYSE:F - News) Explorer sport utility vehicles.

Firestone, a unit of Japan's Bridgestone Corp. (Tokyo:5108.T - News), recalled millions of tires in 2000 and 2001.