Standards for Tire Fuel Efficiency and Wet Traction (Braking)
- USTMA supports expeditious regulatory implementation of the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act provisions to create tire fuel efficiency and wet traction standards.
- USTMA successfully advocated that Congress include these important pro-competitive, pro-safety and pro-environment provisions in the FAST Act.
- Europe and other regions have tire fuel efficiency and wet grip performance standards.
- U.S. should adopt standards tailored to the needs of American consumers.
Raising the Bar with New Performance Standards
- Tire manufacturers advocate raising the bar for all tires sold in the U.S. to help consumers and the nation conserve fuel without compromising wet traction performance.
- Establishing a minimum tire fuel efficiency performance standard will eliminate the least fuel-efficient tires from the passenger tire market.
- A wet traction performance standard will help ensure that tire fuel efficiency improvements are not achieved at the expense of wet traction performance and safety.
Maintaining Global Competitiveness
- Adopting new, higher tire performance standards that other nations have implemented will help to help ensure that Unites States does not become a dumping ground for lower performing, lower technology and less innovative tires that do not meet other countries’ standards.
- Tire fuel efficiency and wet traction standards will help to highlight advanced tire technology that advance safety and fuel efficiency for U.S. consumers.
Evolving Tire Technology
- Safety is the tire manufacturing industry’s most critical tire performance trait.
- Tire manufacturers continue to evolve tire technology to help ensure safety and to improve tire performance characteristics including traction, tread wear and fuel economy.