Interpretation ID: aiam2096
Manager
Government & Industry Technical Relations
Dunlop Tire and Rubber Corporation
Box 1109
Buffalo
NY 14240;
Dear Mr. Boyd: Thank you for your letter of July 8, 1975, to Ed Wallace of our Tir Division, enclosing a letter from Mr. W. Preuss of Dunlop Germany, concerning the allocation, between vehicle manufacturers and tire manufacturers, of responsibility for the safety of original equipment tires.; Section 159 of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act o 1966, as amended by the Motor Vehicle and Schoolbus Safety Amendments of 1974, specifies that, except as otherwise provided in regulations of this agency, a defect in or noncompliance of an original equipment tire shall be the responsibility of the vehicle manufacturer. The NHTSA has recently granted the petitions of the Motor Vehicle Manufacturers Association, General Motors, and the European Tyre and Rim Technical Organisation for a reallocation of this responsibility. We expect to issue a notice of proposed rulemaking on this subject in the near future.; Yours truly, Richard B. Dyson, Assistant Chief Counsel