Interpretation ID: nht93-1.11

DATE: January 19, 1993

FROM: Paul Jackson Rice -- Chief Counsel, NHTSA

TO: Michael Dib, Esq. -- Law Offices of Reid, Maguilis and Dib

TITLE: None

ATTACHMT: Attached to letter dated 1/5/93 from Tony Stump to Walter Myers

TEXT:

This responds to the letter on your behalf from Mr. Tony stump of Backtrack Unlimited, and telephone conversations between Mr. Stump and Mr. Walter Myers of this office. Mr. Stump requested information on a tire containing the DOT tire identification number (TIN) CPFMPKD101. Specifically, the letter requested the name and address of the manufacturer, date of manufacture of the tire, and any additional information known to this agency about this tire.

49 Code of Federal Regulations Part 574.5 (copy enclosed) establishes the requirement for TINs and specifies the information to be contained therein as well as the format and sequence of such information. The purpose of the TIN is to facilitate the effective recall of tires from the public if the tires are found not to comply with applicable safety standards or if the tires contain a safety-related defect.

Part 574.5 provides that the TIN will be composed of four groups of symbols, letters and/or numbers. The first grouping, CP, on the TIN for the tire indicates that the manufacturer is the Continental Gummi-Werke, A.G., Continental Street 3 to 5, D-354 Korbach, Germany. NHTSA does not maintain data on the second and third groupings, which identifies tire size and significant characteristics of the tire. The fourth grouping, 101, shows the week and year of manufacture. In this case, 101 would be the tenth full week of a year that ends in a "1," such as 1981 or 1991.

NHTSA has no additional information on this tire.

I hope this answers your questions. Should you have any further questions regarding this matter, please feel free to contact Mr. Myers at this address or at (202) 366-2992.