Court Rule Against Tiremakers in Data Reporting Suit

The U.S. Court of Appeals rejected an RMA argument concerning public access to early warning data tiremakers are required to supply the government under terms of the TREAD Act.

The court, in a case involving Public Citizen, said the “plain language” of the TREAD Act precluded attempts to keep private certain early warning data. Tiremakers are required to provide NHTSA with a wide range of information they collect on accidents resulting in deaths, injuries or property damage. However, they claimed, through the RMA, that such information should not be released publicly as it is often incomplete and could be misinterpreted.

In its statement regarding the court ruling, the RMA said:

“Today’s decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia is unfortunate and may lead to the release of inaccurate, unsubstantiated information about tires and automotive equipment.

“Much of the information filed under the early warning reporting system often consists of raw and often unverified allegations. As a consequence, it is extremely likely that some consumers’ claims will in fact turn out to have been mistaken. However, tire manufacturers must report these unsubstantiated allegations because the Early Warning Reporting System requires only ‘minimal specificity’ for filing claims.

“Additionally, the system does not allow tire manufacturers to correct data even if it is discovered that a particular consumer claim was unjustified or was made against the wrong tire company.

“Due to the fact that this information includes mere unsubstantiated claims, this raw, early warning data should not be considered by consumers to be an accurate gauge of performance or reliability for any tire.

“With this decision, unverified information released by the government can be misinterpreted and thereby unnecessarily alarm motorists about products that are safe. At the same time, safety regulators will be forced to needlessly expend finite public resources responding to such public alarm generated by the raw and unverified allegations.” (Tire Review/Akron)