Having passed all the hurdles, Texas House Bill 2774, which defined used tyres and scheduled penalties for selling such tyres fell at the final hurdle when Texas Governor Abbott decided that the definitions and the penalties for using tyres , which may be dangerous, were not acceptable.
Inclusion of Definitions Listed Below:
- A tread depth of less than 1/16th inch; which is widely accepted as a legal minimum
- A localized bald spot that exposes the tyre ply or cord; which is rather obviously dangerous
- Regrooving below the original groove depth; not allowed in car tyres in most markets
- Evidence of a temporary repair; sorry, a temporary repair?
- Bumps, bulges or knots indicating tread separation; or
- Worn tread indicators that contact the road in any two adjacent major grooves in the centre of the tyre.
All of the above seem to be completely sensible definitions of unsafe. However, Governor Abbott thinks that penalising people for using such tyres is not the way to go.
Gov. Abbott said, “Texas does not need to impose new criminal penalties on people who put tyres on cars,” he said. “For the past two sessions, the legislature has passed several laws aimed at limiting the reach of criminal penalties and reducing the burden of criminal records,” he wrote. “This bill goes in the opposite direction. Nobody wants bad tyres on the road, but creating a new crime is not the answer to every problem.”
Texas Rep. Armando L. Walle, D-Houston, condemned the governor’s veto in a June 15 statement.
“Two years of diligent work by a stakeholder group consisting of everyone who handles tyres from cradle to grave to craft a balanced bill were cast aside in a veto statement that suggested the governor did not understand or refused to understand tyre disposal and how it is currently regulated,” Mr. Walle said.
(From an original report in Tire Business)
