A California Senate Environmental Quality Committee hearing this week could result in a change in the state’s "check and inflate" law to remove tire age as a reason for auto repairers to refuse to check the pressure on a vehicle’s tires.
The law stems from a 2010 ruling in which California’s Air Resources Board (CARB) established a requirement that all auto repair and service establishments in the state must check and, if necessary, adjust pressure on the tires of every vehicle they service of less than 10,000 pounds gross vehicle weight, excluding motorcycles and off-road vehicles. The stated purpose of the rule was to reduce greenhouse gas emissions caused by vehicles burning excess fuel due to underinflated tires.
Under the rule – which is in effect until Jan. 1, 2018 – auto repairers and tire dealers may refuse to check and inflate tires if they deem them to be unsafe or too aged.
Senate Bill 1076 would remove tire age as a reason for not checking a vehicle’s tires. It also would clarify the current law by adding that CARB would only be required to adopt tire age and safety regulations if the NHTSA adopts regulations establishing a correlation between tire age and safety.
Courtesy of TIRE REVIEW.