National Highway Traffic Safety Administration January 25, 2012 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

On March 30, 2010, NHTSA published a final rule specifying the test methods to be used for a new tire fuel efficiency consumer information program (TFECIP) to measure three aspects of tire performance: Rolling resistance, wet traction, and treadwear. The final rule did not include any of the requirements for the consumer information and education portions of the TFECIP. Instead, NHTSA announced that, based on the comments the agency had received on the proposal that preceded its final rule, it had decided to conduct additional research before issuing a new proposal for these requirements. NHTSA hopes to issue this new proposal in 2012; however, it has decided that it would be helpful to have a public workshop to obtain feedback on some issues that either have proved difficult to explore effectively in the research NHTSA has conducted or have arisen since the publication of the March 2010 final rule. NHTSA invites interested parties to submit written comments and to participate in a public workshop using the instructions set forth in this notice. As described in the Procedural Matters section of this notice, each speaker should anticipate speaking for approximately ten minutes, although we may need to adjust the time for each speaker if there is a large turnout. To facilitate discussion, NHTSA has placed documents concerning research NHTSA has finalized since the March 2010 final rule in the docket. NHTSA will consider the public comments received in developing the new proposal regarding the remaining aspects of the TFECIP.