Interpretation ID: 1982-2.21

DATE: 07/23/82

FROM: AUTHOR UNAVAILABLE; F. Berndt; NHTSA

TO: Tri-City Tires, Inc.

TITLE: FMVSS INTERPRETATION

TEXT: This responds to your recent letter to Mr. Kratzke of my staff asking for a clarification of the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 120 (49 CFR @ 571.120) concerning the use of retreaded tires on new trucks and trailers. Specifically, you wanted to know whether a DOT symbol was required to appear on any retreaded tires so used.

Pursuant to your request in a telephone conversation with Mr. Kratzke, he sent you a copy of a March 22, 1978 letter from this agency to Dorsey Trailers. That letter stated that retreaded tires could be used on new trucks and trailers, and that retreaded tires used for that purpose are not required to have a DOT symbol. This conclusion is mandated by the requirement in 49 CFR @ 574.5 that "the DOT symbol shall not appear on tires to which no Federal Motor Vehicle Standard is applicable." Since no safety standard applies to retreaded tires for use on trucks and trailers, it follows that the DOT symbol must not appear on those tires.

In your recent letter, you enclosed a copy of a September 29, 1980 letter from this agency to Elgene Tire Company. That letter states that, for purposes of Standard No. 120, used tires are interpreted to include retreaded tires. As you noted in your phone conversation with Mr. Kratzke, an implication of this intrepretation seems to be that retreaded tires are required, as used tires, to have a DOT symbol.

The agency position regarding the presence of the DOT symbol on retreaded tires has been consistent since 1978, i.e., that the controlling provision on that issue is @ 574.5 and therefore the DOT symbol is not required to appear on retreaded truck tires, and, indeed, must not appear on those tires. Retreaded truck tires without the DOT symbol may be used on new trucks and trailers in full compliance with Standard No. 120. To clarify this point, the agency published a proposal on October 30, 1980 (45 FR 71834) to amend Standard 120 so that it expressly permits the installation of retreaded tires on new trucks and trailers. (A copy of the proposal is enclosed) Final action on that proposal is expected this summer.

I trust that this response clears up the confusion to which you alluded in your letter regarding these requirements. Should you have any further questions in this area, feel free to contact Mr. Kratzke at (202) 426-2992.

ENC.

TRI-CITY TIRES, INC.

June 11, 1982

Steven Kratzke U.S. Dept. of Transportation Office of Chief Council NHTSA

Dear Steve,

I am writing, per your request, in reference to our conversation concerning the clarification of correspondence dated Sept. 29, 1980 to Elgene Tire Co. of Union, N.J. This letter is to ask your clarification and determination of paragraph 4, (used tires vs retreaded tires), that are requested by the customer to be installed on new equipment. Per your statement to me on June 11, 1982 there is a misrepresentation of interpretation concerning the use of used tires and retreaded tires. Please send me a clarification of this issue as soon as possible, so this problem can be solved once and for all.

John I. Kitchen