Tire Recall System Needs To Be Revamped For Better Auto Owner Safety

Shopping for tires is very similar to car shopping. With so many different manufacturers, makes and models, it is difficult to compare them effectively. Guided by price, most make the assumption that there really can’t be that much difference in quality.

A big mistake,

Federal officials are beginning to question the safety of some tires and if they are found to be unsafe, the recall procedures in place to protect the public. After investigating the system for over a year, there are grave concerns about whether automobile drivers have enough knowledge at hand about tire quality to make wise and safe decisions.

When you purchase tires

When you purchase tires from a service centre for Nissan, you are supposed to register them with the manufacturer. In doing so, if there are some concerns brought to the attention of the manufacturer after use, they can reach out to you and give you critical information about recall decisions, or product defaults. Officials are doubting the effectiveness of the registration process and are unimpressed by the recall system in place regarding tire safety.

In fact, the NTSB Senior Official Robert Molloy insists that not only does the system not work effectively, it is completely broken. Driving the investigation was a fatal accident that happened this past summer caused by tires on an automobile that had long since been recalled over safety concerns.

Not only were the tires responsible for the accident, but the government also found that millions were not only unaware of the recall, but they were also still traveling on the tires that should have been recalled and reimbursed to the consumer. Making matters worse, not only were they not recalled from current tire owners, they were still being sold at warehouse tire outlets around the San Francisco and Atlanta area.

It is estimated that as many as four hundred or more deaths per year are perpetrated by bad tires. Among the reason for accidents are tires that are under-inflated, defective, or punctured. The tire industry claims that statistics are bloviated and outlandish, insisting that the numbers are closer to about 200, half the amount claimed.

Ask any automobile owner

Ask any automobile owner whether their tires have been recalled, and they likely can’t tell you if they are even registered. There is no standard registration or required one either. With over 33,000 accidents reported per year due to tire malfunction, tire safety is something that must be addressed. A real public health issue, it is as serious as wearing a safety belt, or putting your child in a car seat, but something that is rarely discussed.

Some proposed changes to make it easier for tire owners to spot recall is a Tire Identification Number allocated to tires so that an owner can look their tire up on a website to see if any reported issues have been identified.

Although each tire already has their own tire identification number located on the side of the tire, few car owners understand what the number is for, or how to check if their tires are safe. With no system in place, owners are at the mercy of the manufacturer to reach out if a tire has been recalled or indicated as defunct.

Making things even easier for consumers

It has been proposed that tire manufacturers could embed chips in the tires that could signal a scan code to give tire shops the ability to check the safety of a tire and whether there has been a recalled issued. Tire manufacturers have been slow to respond with any real solution to the tire recall problem.

There are, to date, no real guidelines for how long tires are safe to use on the road. Many experts say that within the first few years treads begin to wear and that overuse can affect the safety of the tire and its ability to grip the road.

An expense that not many people can afford, tires are usually driven on for far longer than they should be. If customers had tire imprinted dates, they wouldn’t have to rely on mental recount to know the date of purchase or if it is likely that their tires are ready to be replaced.

You have a lot riding on your tires, would you ride on them if you knew that they had been recalled for safety concerns, likely not. A new system should be implemented to help car owners know when their tires are getting too old, or if they have safety concerns to use. A new standardized system for recall could be the key to saving countless lives every year.