Interpretation ID: nht79-1.39

DATE: 03/16/79

FROM: AUTHOR UNAVAILABLE; F. Berndt; NHTSA

TO: National Tire Dealers & Retreaders Association, Inc.

TITLE: FMVSR INTERPRETATION

TEXT:

MAR 16 1979

Mr. Charles D. Hylton, III Director, Editorial Services National Tire Dealers & Retreaders Association, Inc. 1343 L Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20005

Dear Mr. Hylton:

This is in response to your letter of February 27, 1979, asking whether tire dealers are responsible for supplying point-of-sale information concerning the Uniform Tire Quality Grading Standards (UTQG) (49 CFR 575.104) to prospective tire purchasers.

Subpart A of Part 575, Consumer Information Regulations, provides in section 575.6(c) (49 CFR 575.6(c)) that,

"Each manufacturer of motor vehicles, each brand name owner of tires, and each manufacturer of tires for which there is no brand name owner shall provide for examination by prospective purchasers, at each location where its vehicles or tires are offered for sale by a person with whom the manufacturer or brand name owner has a contractual, proprietary, or other legal relationship, or by a person who has such a relationship with a distributor of the manufacturer or brand name owner concerning the vehicle or tire in question, the information specified in Subpart B of this part that is applicable to each of the vehicles or tires offered for sale at that location ..."

The UTQG Standards, contained in Subpart B of Part 575, specify the information which must be furnished to prospective purchasers by vehicle manufacturers, tire manufacturers, and tire brand name owners (49 CFR 575.104(d)(1)(ii)).

Thus, the Consumer Information Regulations place the responsibility for providing UTQG point-of-sale information to prospective tire purchasers on manufacturers and brand name owners rather than directly on tire dealers. The means by which tire manufacturers and brand name owners assure that UTQG information is provided for examination will be determined between these suppliers and their dealers and distributors.

You should also note that, in light of the 30-day stay granted by the U.S. Court of appeals for the Sixth Circuit in the case of B.B. Goodrich Co. v. Department of Transportation, the effective dates for all requirements of the UTQG regulation, with the exception of paragraphs (d)(1)(i)(A) and (d)(1)(iii) (49 CFR 575.104(d)(i)(A) and (d)(1)(iii), are now March 31, 1979 for bias-ply tires and October 1, 1979 for bias-belted tires. Paragraph (d)(1)(i)(A), the sidewall molding requirement, and paragraph (d)(1)(iii), the first purchaser requirement, now become effective October 1, 1979 for bias-ply tires and March 31, 1980 for bias-belted tires.

Sincerely,

Frank A. Berndt Acting Chief Counsel