Pretty mucheveryone knows the dangers associated with using tires that have gone a longdistance and had their treads worn down, but now there are concerns that the rubbercompound in the tires can become hazardous over time regardless of theirmileage.
To keepconsumers alert to the notion of tires going beyond their ''best before'' date,a Massachusetts safety research firm is asking the U.S. government to put a''born on'' date on them.
SRS Inc.president Sean Kane told the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration(NHTSA) a study by his firm shows that the rubber in tires can start to degradeafter six years even if they have not been used. Kane said there have been atleast 37 deaths from 50 crashes caused by the failure of older tires withlittle mileage on them.
Kane said that, inmany of the accidents documented by his company, tires with little wear in thetread suddenly failed.
Kane said hisfirm has tested tires from crashes that involved different types of tires frommost of the high-profile companies, including Continental, Dunlop, Firestone,General, Goodyear, Goodrich, Kelly, Michelin, Pirelli and Uniroyal.
Kane told NHTSAthat the tire industry knows about the dangers associated with degrading rubberbut has said little about it.
Kane called it ''It'san invisible hazard. The industry knows a lot about it, and they haverecommendations that they've hidden from the public for years. Just about everyother product, from food to paint, has an expiration date on it."
British tiremanufacturers recently advised consumers to replace tires that were more than10 years old, Kane said, regardless of wear.
Consumers inNorth America have to figure out what the serial numberson the side of tire mean to determine when it was built. Notwithstanding that,there are no hard rules about how old a tire can be before it becomes a risk.
The Britishgroups said that components in tires dry with age and can separate and that,ironically, their anti-aging chemicals only work when a tire is in use.
As a result,certain tires are particularly in jeopardy -- spares, stored tires, or tiresthat spend a long time of trailers or RVs that don't get as much mileage.
The president ofthe Rubber Manufacturers Association, Donald Shea, said the tire industry wasdoing research on tire aging but that there is no data to suggest a tirebecomes a hazard at any specific age.
Some autocompanies doing business inNorth America actuallywarn people who own their vehicles about aging tires, so it probably pays tocheck your owner's manual if you've been using the same tires for more thanfive years, regardless or mileage.
To keepconsumers alert to the notion of tires going beyond their ''best before'' date,a Massachusetts safety research firm is asking the U.S. government to put a''born on'' date on them.
SRS Inc.president Sean Kane told the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration(NHTSA) a study by his firm shows that the rubber in tires can start to degradeafter six years even if they have not been used. Kane said there have been atleast 37 deaths from 50 crashes caused by the failure of older tires withlittle mileage on them.
Kane said that, inmany of the accidents documented by his company, tires with little wear in thetread suddenly failed.
Kane said hisfirm has tested tires from crashes that involved different types of tires frommost of the high-profile companies, including Continental, Dunlop, Firestone,General, Goodyear, Goodrich, Kelly, Michelin, Pirelli and Uniroyal.
Kane told NHTSAthat the tire industry knows about the dangers associated with degrading rubberbut has said little about it.
Kane called it ''It'san invisible hazard. The industry knows a lot about it, and they haverecommendations that they've hidden from the public for years. Just about everyother product, from food to paint, has an expiration date on it."
British tiremanufacturers recently advised consumers to replace tires that were more than10 years old, Kane said, regardless of wear.
Consumers in
The Britishgroups said that components in tires dry with age and can separate and that,ironically, their anti-aging chemicals only work when a tire is in use.
As a result,certain tires are particularly in jeopardy -- spares, stored tires, or tiresthat spend a long time of trailers or RVs that don't get as much mileage.
The president ofthe Rubber Manufacturers Association, Donald Shea, said the tire industry wasdoing research on tire aging but that there is no data to suggest a tirebecomes a hazard at any specific age.
Some autocompanies doing business in