Interpretation ID: nht81-2.21
DATE: 05/08/81
FROM: AUTHOR UNAVAILABLE; F. Berndt; NHTSA
TO: Continental Products Corporation
TITLE: FMVSR INTERPRETATION
TEXT:
MAY 8 1981
Mr. William G. Finn, Merchandizing Manager Continental Products Corporation 1200 Wall Street West Lyndhurst, NJ 07071
Dear Mr. Finn:
This is in response to your letter of April 22, 1981, regarding marketing of Continental's ContiContact steel belted mud and snow tire as an all-season tire. You ask whether there are any governing criteria for what constitutes an all-season tire, and, if a tire is advertised as an all-season tire, whether it must be graded under the Uniform Tire Quality Grading (UTQG) Standards. You also ask whether it would be legal to market this tire as an all-season tire.
As you know, deep tread, winter-type snow tires are not within the coverage of the UTQG regulation (49 CFR S575.104(c)(1)). On May 24, 1979, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration published in the Federal Register its interpretation that all-season tires are not considered deep-tread, winter-type snow tires within the meaning of the regulation (44 F.R. 30139). All-season tires were described in that notice as those with a tread depth which permits safe operation throughout the year. The notice indicated the agency's intention to exempt from the coverage of the standard "a strictly limited class of tires, the deep tread rubber and tread design of which makes year round use on passenger cars inadvisable." Thus, a tire offered for sale by its manufacturer or brand name owner as suitable for all-season use could not be considered a deep tread, winter-type snow tire for UTQG purposes.
With regard to the legality of marketing the ContiContact tire as an all-season tire, mud and snow tires must meet Federal safety standards in the same manner as other passenger car tires. Also, a tire not suitable for its intended use could be considered to contain a safety-related defect in performance, construction, or materials, for purposes of the recall authority of Title I, Part B of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 1411, et seq.). Beyond these limitations, statutes and regulations administered by NHTSA do not restrict the sale of all-season tires. Sincerely,
Frank Berndt Chief Counsel
Mr. Richard Hipolit Dept. of Transportation Legal Dept. Washington, DC 20590 April 22, 1981
Dear Dick,
Thank you for taking the time to speak to me on the phone yesterday.
As per our discussion, Dick, we are considering marketing our ContiContact steel belt M + S tire as an "all season" tire in the fall of 1981. Enclosed is a photograph of the tze, should such a recall be necessary. As long as Michelin maintains accurate records of the size codes assigned to the various tire sizes, it would be permissible to assign more than one size code to each tire size.
At the outset, it is important to note that the size code in the tire identification number is not the means used by the consumer to determine the size of the tires on his or her car. Section S4.3(a) of Standard No. 109 and section S6.5(c) of Standard No. 119 specify that the tire size designation must be labeled on both sidewalls. The size designation is the exact size and is not the same as the size code. To satisfy this requirement, Michelin should label all tires of the same size with just one size designation.
For purposes of record keeping, paragraph S574.5 requires that each tire be labeled with a tire identification number, and that this identification number contain four groupings of information. The first grouping is a symbol identifying the manufacture.