The White House rolled out a new initiative that is intended to raise public awareness of tire safety and fuel economy. The program was officially introduced by Transportation Department Secretary Anthony Foxx, who explained that it is aimed at providing consumers with guidelines and recommendations on how to choose the appropriate tires for ensuring better mileage and prevent crashes caused by defective tires. One of the key goals of the program will be encouraging car owners to buy low rolling resistance tires when replacing their old tires, as they help reduce fuel consumption, helping drivers save a lot of money on gas in the long run, even though they are more expensive to buy than other tires.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), if 10 percent of replacement tires had lower rolling resistance, U.S. consumers would save over $200 million in gasoline costs, and annual carbon emissions would be reduced by 690,000 tons. Foxx was accompanied by NASCAR driver Ryan Blaney when he made the announcement at the White House. The Department of Transportation has partnered up with NASCAR to launch the “Drive for Safety” initiative, which will be promoted throughout the 2015 racing season.
In addition to the NASCAR partnership, the Department of Transportation will work with tire manufacturers, tire retailers, and fuel distributors, launching a “Tire Safety Awareness Month”, which started the day the program was announced, and will run through January 9, 2015. Furthermore, a guide on fuel efficiency and tire safety, titled “Be TireWise”, was also unveiled as part of the program, which should help drivers save money on gas stay safe while on the road. Finally, the program set 2017 as a deadline for creating a formal rule on tire fuel-efficiency.
During the Tire Safety Awareness Month, the department will provide consumers with advise on the correlation between proper tire maintenance – which include rotation, balance, alignment, and tire pressure – and traffic safety. According to the Secretary, tire-related defects cause about 11,000 crashes a year in the United States. This initiative is supported by
various U.S. tire manufacturers, including Bridgestone Americas, Continental Tire the Americas, Cooper Tire & Rubber Co., Goodyear, Michelin North America, Pirelli Tire North America, Toyo Tire North America and Yokohama Tire Corp, along with several prominent tire retailers. Manufacturers will publish information related to proper tire maintenance on their websites, and some of them will even offer free inflation services.
In addition to announcing this new program, the White House said that it has prompted the NHTSA and the EPA to issue the “next phase of medium- and heavy-duty vehicle fuel efficiency and greenhouse gas standards by March 2016.” These programs and initiatives are an important part of the Government’s efforts for reducing the impact of motor vehicles on global warming and reducing the country’s foreign oil dependence.