Interpretation ID: aiam3347
President
Elgene Tire Company
Milltown Road
Union
New Jersey 07083;
Dear Mr. Rosenfeld: This responds to your August 15, 1980 letter to this office requestin an interpretation of the requirements of Standard 120 (49 CFR S571.120). Specifically, you were concerned about paragraph S5.1.3, which permits the use of used tires on new vehicles other than passenger cars. The interpretations set forth below follow the same order used in your letter.; (1) New motor vehicles subject to Standard 120, which includes al motor vehicles other than passenger cars, may be equipped with used tires, pursuant to the provisions of paragraph S5.1.3 of the standard, *provided*, that the used tires are owned or leased by the vehicle purchaser and that they are installed on the vehicle at the request of the purchaser. This means that a vehicle manufacturer may not itself purchase used tires to install on new vehicles, nor may a vehicle purchaser authorize the manufacturer to install used tires not owned or leased by the purchaser of the vehicle.; (2) There is no limitation as to the axles on which used tires may b used. It would be permissible for a vehicle purchaser to ask a vehicle manufacturer to install the purchaser's used tires on each axle of the vehicle. The only requirement for axles in section S5.1.3 is that each axle must be equipped with tires, new or used, the sum of whose load ratings is at least equal to the gross axle weight rating for that axle.; (3) The used tires installed pursuant to paragraph S5.1.3 must b marked with the DOT number to indicate that the tires were originally manufactured in compliance with Standard 119. The January 1, 1978 date to which you referred means that all vehicles manufactured after that date and equipped with used tires under S5.1.3, must be equipped with used tires that originally complied with Standard 119 and have the DOT marking. The requirement does not mean that the used tires must have been originally manufactured on or after January 1, 1978, as you stated in your letter.; (4) for purposes of this section of Standard 120, used tires have bee interpreted to include retreaded tires. To repeat what I stated under answer number '1' above, your statement that the vehicle purchaser may use retreaded tires on his vehicle if he requests the manufacturer to install retreaded tires is not entirely accurate. The retreaded tires may only be used if they are owned or leased by the vehicle purchaser.; The penalties for failure to comply with Standard 120 could be up t $1,000 for each violation, pursuant to the authority of sections 108 and 109 of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966, as amended (15 U.S.C. 1397 and 1398). Since Standard 120 applies to vehicles, the vehicles manufacturer would be responsible for any violation. This agency considers each separate use of an unauthorized tire on a vehicle to be a separate violation. For example, if a vehicle had six tires and each failed to comply with the requirements of Standard 120, the vehicle would have six violations, and civil penalties of up to $6,000 could be assessed against the vehicle manufacturer.; Enforcement of Standard No. 120 is under the general provisions of th Vehicle Safety Act. There are no special enforcement procedures. The agency has investigators who check vehicles to ensure that they comply with the applicable standards. If there is a noncompliance, the agency has the authority to sue the violator in a Federal court to collect the civil penalties, pursuant to section 105 of the Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 1394).; If the new vehicles were shipped without tires, as you suggested in th last question in your letter, Standard 120 would not apply to the vehicles. Section S5.1.1 specifies that the requirements of this standard apply to 'each vehicles equipped with pneumatic tires for highway service.' Only vehicles so equipped are subject to Standard 120.; You should be aware of the fact that this agency will soon publish notice proposing changes in the requirements of section S5.1.3 of Standard 120. If your would like a copy of that proposal after it is published, or have any further questions on this matter, please contact Stephen Kratzke of my staff at this address.; Sincerely, Frank Berndt, Chief Counsel