[RAM MAN]

from a report in the "Car Connection":

"Tire manufacturers Goodyear and Bridgestone are taking the Feds to court over new tire-pressure monitor requirements making their way into law. Earlier this year the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration set out the fine print in rules that would require all cars and trucks to come with tire pressure monitors by the 2008 model year. The move was a response to the Firestone tire recall of 2000, in which underinflated tires played a role in the deaths of at least 271 Ford Explorer/Mercury Mountaineer passengers and in hundreds of injuries. The tire companies are suing the NHTSA, Reuters reports, because they say the new standard is not enough to ensure safety. The tire companies in a joint statement said that even better technology than that decided upon by the NHTSA is available. The rule as written will require tire monitors to be installed at each of a vehicle's four wheels, and to alert drivers when a tire is 25 percent underinflated - a rigid number that does not adequately protect drivers of all vehicles from potential harm. "

 

[RAM MAN]

From A Previous Report

"NHTSA To Require Tire Monitors in 2008 The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has ruled that the tire-pressure monitor systems it previously announced will be required by the 2008 model year, according to the Associated Press. The NHTSA developed the tire-pressure rule in response to the Ford/Firestone tread separation recall of 2000, in which underinflated tires were blamed in 271 deaths and hundreds of injuries. The new systems will report if a tire falls 25 percent low on air pressure in the form of a dashboard light. The agency estimates the devices will cost about $50 to $70 per vehicle, the AP adds. All vehicles weighing less than 10,000 pounds will be required to have the systems by the 2008 model year. "