National Highway Traffic Safety Administration March 12, 2007 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This document responds to a petition for rulemaking regarding Federal motor vehicle safety standard (FMVSS) No. 119, Pneumatic Tires for Vehicles Other Than Passenger Cars. Pacific Coast Retreaders (PCR), a distributor of new truck tires that are manufactured in China, petitioned the agency on February 1, 2006, to amend FMVSS No. 119, paragraph S5.1, Tire and rim matching information (b). Specifically, PCR petitioned the agency to accept tire load rating data for two bias ply truck tire sizes, 10-20 and 11-22.5, from the Chinese tire standardization organization Guo Biao 9744-1997 (GB 9744). NHTSA has determined that this petition is moot with regard to the 10-20 size tires because the maximum load rating labeled on these tires, in the single and dual wheel configurations, meets the requirements of FMVSS No. 119. With regard to the 11-22.5 size tires, the agency denies the request by the petitioner that FMVSS No. 119, paragraph S5.1(b) be amended to include the GB 9744 maximum load rating for this single tire size. The agency does not consider amending the standard to include the specifications of a tire standardization organization for one tire size.