by MIKE BRESLIN
The question before several state legislatures this year – should new laws governing the sale of unsafe used tires be made?
This year lawmakers in Indiana, Florida, New Jersey, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Texas are expected to consider such laws. Many professional automotive recyclers are diametrically opposed to such legislation finding it misdirected, too far reaching and exposing recyclers to unwarranted liabilities.
To date, only Colorado and Maryland have laws governing the sale of unsafe used tires. As an example, Maryland’s Transportation Code 22-405 (2013) may be instructive as to what may spread to several other states. As with many laws, they are complex and detailed. Following are only the main points of Maryland’s subsection 22-405-5 regarding the sale of unsafe used tires:
(a) Retail sale for highway use. A person may not sell or offer for sale, at the point of final retail sale to the consumer, an unsafe tire, for use on a highway, that does not meet or exceed the requirements set forth in subsection (b) of this section or in regulations promulgated under § 22-405(c) of this subtitle.
(b) Tires considered unsafe. A tire shall be considered unsafe if it:
•Has tread wear indicators and the tire is worn to the point that the tread wear indicators are flush with the tread at any place on the tire;
•Does not have tread wear indicators and the tire is worn so that less than 2/32 of an inch tread remains when measured in any groove at three locations spaced approximately equally around the outside of the tire; provided that motorcycle tires shall be allowed to be worn down to 1/32 of an inch, if measured under this paragraph;
•Has a worn spot that exposes the cord through the tread;
•Has tread cuts, snags or sidewall cracks in any direction which are deep enough to expose body cords;
•Has visible bumps, bulges or knots indicating partial failure or separation of the tire structure;
•Has unrepaired fabric breaks or the sidewall has damaged body cords.
This subsection goes on further, relates to four other subsections and is followed by a disclaimer that reads: These codes may not be the most recent version. Maryland may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
Checking official sources is not as easy as it sounds. American Recycler News made several calls each to Maryland and Colorado Department of Transportations (DOT) and could not find anyone who knew about the unsafe used tire law. Finally, a call to the Maryland State Police elicited some information. According to Sargent Black at the office of media communications, any Maryland law enforcement officer can issue a summons regarding 22-405, which is subject to a $140 fine and up to 5 points against a driver’s license.
Trooper Lewis at the Colorado State Patrol’s media office reported that the sale of an unsafe used tire is a misdemeanor Traffic 2 offense under House Bill 14-1352. Therefore, the offender would be required to go to court, and based on the judge’s discretion penalties are assessed. On the other hand, driving on an unsafe tire is a primary traffic infraction with a fine of $15 dollars plus a $7 dollar surcharge. Most states have laws against driving on bald tires.
Emanuel Tire Company, headquartered in Baltimore has over 200 employees and operates 6 tire recycling plants located in Maryland, Pennsylvania and Virginia and sells used tires to wholesale customers worldwide and through retail operations in Maryland. Mark Rannie, Emanuel’s vice president said, “We’ve been selling used tires for 57 years and we don’t sell unsafe used tires. We shouldn’t be selling tires that don’t meet those minimal standards of safety. It’s our obligation as a retailer to make sure that the treads are good, cords not visible and belts are not exposed.”
Rannie is also chairman of the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI) tire-rubber division. From his perspective, as a wholesaler of millions of used tires over the years, he said his company always grades used tires to make sure they are in condition to exceed Maryland’s state law. “Those that don’t meet the safety standards for use on a vehicle are marked as OH for Off Highway use,” said Rannie.
Most everyone agrees that driving on any unsafe tire is dangerous and stupid, as does the Automotive Recyclers Association (ARA), which represents over 4,500 professional automotive recyclers across the U.S. and in 14 countries internationally. But the ARA disagrees with who should be responsible for making a determination as to the safety of used tires under these existing and proposed laws, an important distinction.
“It is at the point of installation of a used tire on a motor vehicle that any determination regarding safety, fit or general roadworthiness should take place,” said Michael Wilson, ARA’s chief executive officer. “Professional automotive recyclers resell used tires for many purposes and the ultimate use of those tires is unknown to the seller at the point of purchase.”
Professional automotive recyclers harvest quality used tires, along with other OEM parts from salvage or disabled vehicles, which are sold into the marketplace. Tires designated as scrap that are not suited for use on motor vehicles, for example those with tread wear, worn spots or visible bumps and bulges are sold to scrap recyclers who recycle the raw material and put it to multiple end uses, like tire derived fuel, additives for rubberized asphalt and recycling into rubber products, among many other uses.
“Used tires play an important economic role in the marketplace, providing a cost effective alternative to potentially unaffordable new tires for consumers,” said Wilson. “The reutilization of quality used tires also has positive environmental benefits as tires are given a second life rather than ending up in a landfill.”
The ARA stated that the professional automotive recycling industry shares a common goal of safely and efficiently processing inoperable motor vehicles in an environmentally responsible manner and encourages the reuse of quality, recycled OEM automotive parts, including used tires, in the automotive marketplace. ARA supports the use of quality used tires and opposes any legislative and regulatory restriction on the sale of used tires. If the true intent of these bills is to protect consumers, ARA contends, preventing the installation of unsafe tires is the only way to ensure that unsafe tires do not end up on a consumer’s vehicle.
Two of the driving forces behind lobbying state legislators to support laws banning the sale of unsafe used tires are the Rubber Manufacturers Association (RMA), which represents tire manufacturers that produce tires in the U.S, and the Tire Industry Association (TIA), an international non-profit association representing all segments of the tire industry.
Last year, RMA successfully advocated unsafe used tire legislation in Colorado. Scrap tire data analyzed by RMA suggests that 30 to 35 million used tires are available for sale every year. A motorist survey sponsored by RMA found that nearly 1 in 10 motorists said their car is currently riding on tires that were bought used.
In an interview with American Recycler News, Dan Zielinski, RMA senior vice president shared, “Our main members are focused on safety. We are very fortunate that tire-related incidents on the highway cause an extraordinarily low number of crashes that lead to injuries or fatalities. In looking at where we can make improvements, used tire sales were one of them. So we have embarked on a very modest effort to introduce common legislation to address the worst of the worst tires that can be sold out there.
“Tire recyclers have told us they sell a lot of used tires and that they don’t have the expertise to determine whether or not one is safe or unsafe. They feel it should be left to someone else. We would argue, however, that if you are in the tire business, and we estimate that 20 percent of the available used tires are sold through recycling yards, they have elected to be in the tire business. We are not trying to impose a burden that is severe. It would be unfair for a consumer to buy a tire from a recycler and take it to a mechanic who may say that you shouldn’t put it on the car. So the consumer goes back to the recycler, gets his money back or gets another tire and goes back to the mechanic who could again say he can’t install this unsafe tire either. At what point are you not going to put the consumer in that kind of position?
“If our legislation became law everywhere, there will still be lots of used tires available. We’ve just targeting the bottom of the barrel. It’s very modest. It may be alleged that this is some mad scheme for the tire manufacturing industry to generate more sales, but it’s not. I think it’s fair to say that anyone who is buying a tire that would be banned for sale under our bill would probably be paying $10 to $25 for a tire like that. If they couldn’t buy that tire they are not going to go for a $150 new tire as an alternative. They are probably going to opt for the $30 or $35 used tire. So it’s not going to impact new tire manufacturers sales. It’s not a question of lawsuits, it’s all about safety.
“To prevent the sale of tires that should not be put on the road, it needs to be done legislatively. We are contacting state legislators directly by phone and arranging personal meetings. In some cases we hire representation to help us facilitate those meetings,” said Zielinski.
Roy Littlefield IV, government affairs manager for the Tire Industry Association, commented on the proposed legislation. “We are supporting proposed legislation with RMA on the sale of unsafe used tires. On one hand we recognize that used tire sales are important. It is a profit center for dealers and it is necessary for certain customers, but on the other hand we are very concerned about liability and safety of selling unsafe tires. So we worked together with RMA on language that we think begins to address that issue and we are supporting that legislation.”
Bruce Ormand is owner of A1 PartsSmart in Texas, an auto parts recycler that employs approximately 20 and has close to 50,000 parts in inventory. A1 PartsSmart is a member of the ARA and Ormand is the legislative director for the Texas Automotive Recyclers Association.
“We fought the proposed Texas used tire law in 2013 and helped kill the bill,” said Ormand. “Our legislature meets every two years, so the bill is up again for consideration this year. They changed the bill considerably this session from the last session. We’re currently negotiating with the legislature to correct the language in the bill. The Texas Automotive Recyclers Association has asked the tire bill sponsor to make changes because in its current form it is not acceptable and does not appropriately promote consumer protection. From a lawsuit standpoint the proposed language is too ambiguous and leads to misinterpretation. If manufacturers sold defective new tires, for example, they should know it.
“We don’t see this bill as being a consumer protection plan. In 2013, it was especially driven towards eliminating competition for people who resell used tires, not necessarily about safety. In 2013, both Liberty Tire and RMA were backing the bill. We tried to work with them to change the language, but they were unwilling to work with us. For 2015 we suggested some changes. So far they have been rejected,” said Ormand.
He made the point any used product being sold could fall under the same type of language as the proposed ban on selling unsafe used tires, whether it’s another used auto part, a refrigerator or a stove. He said that if the tire industry was truly concerned about consumer protection they would work with retailers, the sellers of tires. There’s no licensing in Texas and most other states to sell used or new tires and many new tire retailers resell used tires that they’ve taken off vehicles. They also sell to wholesalers. You can look online and buy used tires from wholesalers by the container load. Many of these containers come from overseas. “We feel that if you are serious about consumer protection; why not require some kind of safety training and continuing education for the people who install tires?”
The debate over unsafe used tires will no doubt continue in many state legislatures around the country for years to come. Everyone seems to agree that safety is the number one consideration and priority, but at what point is the consumer best served? In the end, the consumer also assumes responsibility on choosing what quality and price of tire he purchases. And what’s the practicality and cost for this type of enforcement? Which government agencies will do the work? Little doubt that lawyers welcome laws that delve into minutia. And, at what point should the state micromanage the sale of used merchandise?
It seems that anyone who is in the business of mounting tires on rims, whether new or used, should have trained, certified technicians following standards of quality to responsibly install tires and be accountable for that work. At that juncture, both the inside and outside of a tire can be closely inspected for structural defects and tread wear assessed for road worthiness.
Published in the May 2015 Edition of American Recycler News
