RMA Plans Draws Criticism

The Rubber Manufacturers Association (RMA) is devising a plan it expects will, once and for all, make sure the word gets out to tire technicians and consumers about safe, proper tire repair techniques. But the option proposed for model repair legislation has drawn some criticism.

The tire repair community staunchly opposes one of the options the RMA is considering: model state legislation to enforce proper tire repairs.

“Education needs to be the focus, not legislation,” said Phil Nigh, head of sales at Elgi Rubber Co. Ltd. and immediate past chairman of the Tread Rubber and Tire Repair Materials Manufacturers’ Group (TRMG).

“We don’t need the government to get involved,” Mr. Nigh told Tire Business. “Every time the government gets involved in this industry, it screws things up.”

Jeff Young, sales manager of tire repair and retread materials for Patch Rubber Co. and himself a past TRMG chairman, also is unhappy at the RMA suggestion of legislation.“We support the RMA, and we’ve used their materials as an important part of our training,” Mr. Young said. “But they seem to have an agenda now, and I’m very disappointed.”

The legislative idea is only one of several the RMA is floating to various stakeholders in the tire, auto and related industries to obtain their opinions, an RMA spokesman said.

Another RMA suggestion involves updating its tire repair publications and printing 200,000 new copies for repair shops, tire dealers and other interested parties, he said. Still another is adding tire repair to the “Be Tire Smart” tire safety program to inform consumers about proper tire repair techniques.“We’ve tried to work with as many groups as possible,” the spokesman said. “We want to get everyone’s input and best thinking.”

A Serious Problem
The RMA and the Tire Industry Association (TIA), with the support of the TRMG and other groups, have been striving for years to ensure that anyone who has the responsibility of repairing tires does so correctly.

The dangers of accidents, deaths and litigation are too great to leave tire repair to chance, the RMA and TIA have both said often.

Kevin Rohlwing, TIA senior vice president of training, spoke at the Clemson University Tire Industry Conference this past April, insisting that it simply isn’t enough to plug a flat tire.

“Fixing a flat is cheap and easy,” Mr. Rohlwing said at the conference. “You stop the air from leaking out of a tire, often without removing the tire from the rim.

“Repairing flats, however, means restoring the original condition of the tire by removing the damage, filling the void and sealing the inner liner with pitch,” he said. “If you don’t inspect the inside of the tire, you don’t know what’s going on. That’s why you never repair on the wheel. If you do, you’re gambling with your life.”

Barber vs. Mossy Ford, a court case in which a San Diegobased Ford dealer was ordered to pay $22 million to the family of a couple killed in an accident caused by an allegedly faulty tire repair, demonstrates how high the stakes are, Mr. Rohlwing said.

“This sets the bar for future lawsuits regarding failed tires that were improperly repaired,” he said. “You can bet every product liability lawyer in the United States has looked at this case.”

Despite these dangers and the intensive education and training efforts within the industry, improper tire repairs remain a serious issue, according to the RMA spokesman.

The RMA has met with all the stakeholders it can to get feedback on its proposals, and it met with TRMG officials during the SEMA show in Las Vegas, the spokesman said.

But the spokesman also said the TRMG found out about the RMA initiative from TIA. Mr. Nigh resented that the TRMG was not one of the first organizations contacted. “Who did the RMA contact?” he said. “They contacted auto dealers before they contacted us. They were going to people who didn’t have a dog in the fight!”

Tire dealers want to repair tires correctly, and all they need is the education, Mr. Nigh said.

At the Nov. 3 RMA-TRMG meeting, RMA officials said they sent people out in the field, and they found tire dealers who wanted to repair tires with a plug only rather than the proper, plug-and-patch combination, according to Mr. Nigh.

“That may be true, but it’s not cause for legislation,” he said. Roy Littlefield, TIA executive vice president, said the TIA board of directors stands with the TRMG in opposition to any tire repair legislation.

“This issue is a little sensitive, because we’ve been trying hard to work with the RMA,” Mr. Littlefield said. TIA has communicated its concerns to the RMA, he said, and now it is waiting to see what the RMA finally proposes.Mr. Littlefield added that, to his knowledge, there is no state that currently has a law on its books setting standards for tire repair.

TIA’s Automobile Tire Service (ATS) certification training contains all the information tire technicians need to perform both one-piece and two-piece tire repairs, covering the complete processes for both types, according to Kevin Rohlwing, TIA senior vice president of education and technical services.

“The training covers everything on the RMA wall chart, which is the industry standard for tire repair, plus a lot of other information,” he said.

The RMA is considering all suggestions made by outside organizations, and will make its recommendations public within the next several weeks, the RMA spokesman said.

Miles Moore, Senior Washington Reporter