NEW Calif Tire Pressure Law

[So Cal Mark]

On July 1st, 2010 a new law will go into effect in Calif requiring all auto repair or service shops to test tire pressure in every car they service. (this may include gas stations). There are some details that are still being negotiated that could have far-reaching ramifications nationwide. It seems the Calif Air Resources Board is urging the EPA to make this a national requirement, and it's getting a lot of consideration. Here are a couple of the alternatives that may be included;
1. Purge all air from vehicle tires and refill with nitrogen
2. Mandatory retrofitting of tire pressure monitoring systems
3. Consumer education/outreach program
More info at http://www.arb.ca.gov/regact/2009/tirep ... reisor.pdf

[htchevyii]

Man, I really need to start looking for another state, (or country) to move to. BIg Brother is getting way too intrusive. Oregon's nice, too bad there are no jobs.

[So Cal Mark]

I don't mind checking all of those tires, I learned years ago that nearly every car that comes in needs air. I just don't want to spend 2k for a nitrogen generator!

[mbouse]

agreed. too much of our money is being spent needlessly.

i dunn mind the testing, as long as it is uniformly distributed and enforced, like how the seat belt laws became... but forcing us to switch to nitrogen and retrofitting equipment onto our vehicles is going too far. it is just too bad that our elected officials have to even consider legislating laws to enforce what should be common sense safety maintenance.

i must be abby-normal when i check my tire pressure three or four times per car per year.

[kmead]

i must be abby-normal when i check my tire pressure three or four times per car per year.

Slacker, its people like you that make laws like this neccessary... Three or four times a year? I do at least that to cars that are parked year round

Basically most people don't know a thing about cars and don't really care at all about driving. Witness the cell phones, makeup, shaving etc you see people indulging in all the time while driving

[So Cal Mark]

tire pressure should be checked monthly. I've found about 99 percent of the cars I service have tire pressure in the 20lb range

[spidernut]

I say we should change tire manufacturing and make them all honeycombed rubber with no air pressure required. The tire flexes naturally and doesn't require air. Problem solved.

However, this is proof that our government is out extremely of control...in a major way. With everyone pushing their wacko agendas, we'll soon have to ask Uncle Sam for permission every time we want to step outdoors so that we won't endanger ourselves, others or some microscopic organism.

I'll probably mess up the quote, but Thomas Jefferson said something like: When the people fear the government, that is tyranny. When the government fears the people, that is freedom. We are to the point that we fear the government and the government has no fear of us.

[mbouse]

[quote="kmeadSlacker, its people like you that make laws like this neccessary... Three or four times a year? I do at least that to cars that are parked year round [/quote]

well, i only change tires that often. and, i don't own cars that i don't drive, at least not intentionally.

[joelbert2k]

So who decides what the correct pressure is?
The few times I have had to have one of my cars serviced somewhere they inflated all the tires to the maximum PSI listed on the sidewall. That is quite a bit above the pressure listed on the door sticker.
I don't know how an X would drive at those pressures but I do know that if you inflate all 4 tires on an old VW beetle to 32 psi the owner will come back with a very scared look on his face and ask "what the hell did you do to my car?"
Spiders seem to run at the same pressure f/r so they shouldn't be to scary but the question remains.

Joel

[So Cal Mark]

This is the perfect example of a bad law since there are too many variables. First, are shops allowed to charge for this service? If I have to buy a nitrogen generator, drain all 4 tires and refill them, it's worth something. Will gas stations have to check tires on every car that gets fueled? If monitoring systems are required for retrofit, will prices be standardized? Current tpms systems merely alert if there is a variance between tires, not if all 4 are low but have the same pressure.
If you're caught driving with a low tire, can you be ticketed?

[jimincalif]

This is the perfect example of a bad law

Micromanagement brought to you by the same geniuses who've spent us into bankruptcy.

What's the point of nitrogen anyway? Earth's atmosphere is already some 78% nitrogen.

Jim

[joelbert2k]

I was just reading up on this nitrogen thing and it looks like the benefits are marginal, at best. It seems like just another thing to help unscrupulous businesses to separate unwitting consumers from their money. I guess the CARB needed something to recover from the black paint mess.
Maybe if we fill our tires, non-Californians that is, with helium we could reduce the unsprung weight and there-by improve our handling.
I am happier that I moved more all the time!
Joel

[Curly]

I'm finding it hard to believe that the topic of this thread is not some kind of mis-dated April Fool's joke. Surely this can't be a serious piece of legislation, anybody can see that it's totally ridiculous and has no way of being enforced.
I thought we were over-governed down here with our Nanny-State politicians legislating for lack of common sense, but your elected reps in California take the cake.

[joelbert2k]

I suspect the next thing will be required 5000 mile tuneups.

[jimincalif]

I'm finding it hard to believe that the topic of this thread is not some kind of mis-dated April Fool's joke. Surely this can't be a serious piece of legislation, anybody can see that it's totally ridiculous and has no way of being enforced.

I wish it were. But it seems nothing is beyond the reach of the California Air Resources Board. Here is a clip from an article I read:

"The Air Resources Board wants their plan to be taken to the national level, and ultimately spread across the globe. They are urging the Environmental Protection Agency to adopt similar requirements across the country. "

Look out down under, the CARB people want to go global!