Opinion ID: 783159
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Direct TPMSs

Text: 19 Direct TPMSs use pressure sensors, located in each wheel, to directly measure the pressure in each tire. These sensors broadcast pressure data via a wireless radio frequency transmitter to a central receiver. The data are then analyzed and the results sent to a display mounted inside the vehicle. The type of display varies from a simple telltale, which is how most vehicles are currently equipped, to a display showing the pressure in each tire, sometimes including the spare tire. Thus, direct TPMSs can be linked to a display that tells the driver which tire is under-inflated. 20 Final Rule, 67 Fed. Reg. at 38716; see also Notice, 66 Fed. Reg. at 38987-88. 21 The VRTC's performance and cost studies revealed significant differences between direct and indirect systems. In performance terms, direct systems enjoyed two major advantages over indirect systems, enabling them to detect a broader range of under-inflation than indirect systems. 22 First, whereas direct systems are able to detect all under-inflation levels equal to or greater than 20 percent, indirect systems can detect only those under-inflation levels equal to or greater than 30 percent. 5 Notice, 66 Fed. Reg. at 38988-89; Final Rule, 67 Fed. Reg. at 38708. Second, because direct systems operate by measuring each tire's pressure, they can detect under-inflation when it occurs in any one of the vehicle's tires, or in any combination of the vehicle's tires. Notice, 66 Fed. Reg. at 38988; Final Rule, 67 Fed. Reg. at 38716, 38718. Indirect systems, by contrast, operate by comparing the sums of the wheel speeds in diagonally opposed tires. Final Rule, 67 Fed. Reg. at 38716. As a result, indirect systems cannot detect under-inflation when it occurs simultaneously (and roughly equally 6 ) in (1) all four of the vehicle's tires, (2) two tires on the same side of the vehicle, or (3) two tires on the same axle of the vehicle. Notice, 66 Fed. Reg. at 38987; Final Rule, 67 Fed. Reg. at 38716, 38718. As the agency explained, these three combinations of significantly under-inflated tires occurred frequently in the passenger cars and light trucks randomly surveyed by the NCSA, suggesting that indirect systems are substantially less effective than direct systems. Final Rule, 67 Fed. Reg. at 38718. Indeed, the agency concluded that indirect systems would have provided a warning in only about 50 percent of the instances in which NHTSA found significantly under-inflated tires, id., while direct systems would have provided warnings in all [of] those instances, id. 23 The agency also found that direct systems have several other advantages over indirect systems: (1) Direct systems can detect much smaller pressure losses than can indirect systems; (2) direct systems can indicate which tire is under-inflated, whereas indirect systems can indicate only that one or more tires is under-inflated; (3) unlike direct systems, indirect systems produce false positives when one of the vehicle's tires is mismatched, out of balance, or out of alignment, or when the vehicle is driven on gravel or bumpy roads, or at speeds greater than 70 miles per hour; (4) direct systems can detect under-inflated tires in stationary or moving vehicles, whereas indirect systems can detect under-inflated tires only in moving vehicles; (5) direct systems can detect pressure losses almost instantly, whereas indirect systems do not detect pressure losses until several minutes after tires become significantly under-inflated; (6) direct systems need not be calibrated, whereas indirect systems need to be calibrated when the vehicle is first driven, and recalibrated when a tire is inflated, rotated, or changed, and do not function properly while they are being calibrated. See generally Notice, 66 Fed. Reg. at 38987-88; cf. Final Rule, 67 Fed. Reg. at 38728 (explaining the time frame within which TPMSs must warn drivers that tires are significantly under-inflated); id. at 38730 (declining to require calibration indicators in TPMSs). 24 In cost terms, indirect systems are less expensive to install in vehicles equipped with ABS, Notice, 66 Fed. Reg. at 38987-88; Final Rule, 67 Fed. Reg. at 38706, 38725, 38740, but direct systems are less expensive to install in vehicles that are not equipped with ABS, Notice, 66 Fed. Reg. at 38988; Final Rule, 67 Fed. Reg. at 38740. 7 In the 2000 model year, about 67 percent of all new light vehicles were equipped with ABS. Final Rule, 67 Fed. Reg. at 38740. As a result, the agency estimated that, for vehicles already equipped with ABS, the installation of a current indirect TPMS is the least expensive way of complying with a TPMS standard. Id. at 38706; see id. at 38725. 25 In July 2001, the BTS conducted a follow-up survey of drivers in order to estimate the effect that installing indirect or direct TPMSs would have upon the behavior of drivers. Id. at 38718. The follow-up survey indicated that if TPMSs were installed in increasing numbers of new motor vehicles, 65 percent of drivers would be less concerned, to a great extent or a very great extent, with routinely maintaining the tire pressure in those vehicles. Id. at 38718; see id. at 38727. NHTSA later acknowledged that, given the performance limitations of indirect TPMSs, id. at 38728 (emphasis added), [t]his substantial shift in reliance from routine maintenance to TPMS concerns the agency, id. at 38727-28, because it threatens to instill a false sense of security in drivers of vehicles that rely upon indirect systems, id. at 38728. The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking 26 On July 26, 2001, NHTSA published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking proposing to establish a standard for low tire pressure warning devices under the authority of the Safety Act and section 13 of the TREAD Act. Notice, 66 Fed. Reg. at 38982. In this notice, NHTSA advanced two alternative proposals for a new safety standard. Id.; Final Rule, 67 Fed. Reg. at 38708. The agency planned to adopt one of the two proposals in the Final Rule. Final Rule, 67 Fed. Reg. at 38705. 27 The two proposals were known respectively as the four-tire, 20 percent and three-tire, 25 percent alternatives. Final Rule, 67 Fed. Reg. at 38705. As the names suggest, the two proposals differed in two important respects: the level of under-inflation that they regarded as significant, and the number of under-inflated tires that they required TPMSs to be able to detect at any one time. Id. The first, more rigorous standard would require TPMSs to warn drivers when the tire pressure in one or more tires, up to a total of four tires, fell 20 percent or more below the placard pressure, or to a minimum level of pressure to be specified in the new standard, whichever tire pressure was higher. Notice, 66 Fed. Reg. at 38982-83, 38989; Final Rule, 67 Fed. Reg. at 38705, 38708. The second, more relaxed standard would require TPMSs to warn drivers when the tire pressure in one or more tires, up to a total of three tires, fell 25 percent or more below the placard pressure, or a minimum level of pressure to be specified in the new standard, whichever tire pressure was higher. Notice, 66 Fed. Reg. at 38982-83, 38989; Final Rule, 67 Fed. Reg. at 38705, 38708. Thus, the second, three-tire standard would not require a warning when the tire pressure fell in all four of the vehicle's tires simultaneously and in roughly equal proportions. In most other respects, the two alternatives were identical. Final Rule, 67 Fed. Reg. at 38708; see also Notice, 66 Fed. Reg. 38989 (listing the common aspects of the two standards). 28 With respect to these two standards, the agency made the following findings: (1) currently available direct systems could satisfy both standards; (2) currently available indirect systems could not satisfy either standard; and (3) upgraded indirect systems — which had not yet been designed, developed, or produced — would be able to satisfy the more relaxed, three-tire, 25 percent standard, but not the more rigorous, four-tire, 20 percent standard. See Notice, 66 Fed. Reg. at 38989; Final Rule, 67 Fed. Reg. at 38708. 29 In addition, the agency predicted that if the three-tire, 25 percent standard were adopted, automakers would minimize compliance costs by installing improved indirect systems in vehicles with ABS and direct systems in vehicles without ABS. Notice, 66 Fed. Reg. at 38983; Final Rule, 67 Fed. Reg. at 38708. The agency specifically requested public comments on whether this goal would be practicable. Notice, 66 Fed. Reg. at 38989. 30 The agency also requested comments on whether vehicle manufacturers [would] be able to meet the statutory deadline, and whether TPMS manufacturers [would] be able to supply enough TPMSs to meet the demand, id. at 38997, and if not, whether it would be appropriate to introduce the new safety standards during a phase-in period, id. 8 31 Finally, NHTSA included a cost/benefit analysis that may be summarized as follows: 32 ------------------------------- Four-tire, Three-tire, 20 percent 25 percent ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fatalities prevented per year 9 79 49 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Injuries mitigated or prevented per year 10 10,635 6,585 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Average net cost per vehicle 11 $23.08 $8.63 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total net cost per year 12 (millions) $369 $138 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net cost per equivalent life saved 13 (millions) $1.9 $1.1 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 33 Notice, 66 Fed. Reg. at 38996-97; Final Rule, 67 Fed. Reg. at 38708-09. Public Comments on Hybrid Systems 34 In public comments on the proposed rule, TRW Automotive Electronics, a manufacturer of direct and indirect systems, indicated that it could meet the requirements of the second, three-tire, 25 percent standard by creating hybrid systems, which would be made from the components of direct and indirect systems. See Final Rule, 67 Fed. Reg. at 38716. TRW explained that hybrid systems could be produced by installing a radio transmitter and two direct tire-pressure sensors in new motor vehicles already equipped with indirect systems. Id. 35 The agency thought that such hybrid systems would be able to overcome the limits of current indirect systems by detecting under-inflation equal to or greater than 25 percent, and by detecting under-inflation when it occurred in any combination of the vehicle's tires. Id. at 38716, 38740. But TRW stated that it was not planning to produce hybrid systems, id. at 38706; see also id. at 38715, 38716, 38740, and that it might be unable to produce them by November 1, 2003, id. at 38725. In light of these comments, the agency acknowledged that it did not know when such systems could be produced. Id. at 38715, 38716. The Draft Final Rule 36 On December 18, 2001, the agency submitted a draft final rule to the federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review. 14 Final Rule, 67 Fed. Reg. at 38711-12. The draft final rule specified short-term and long-term requirements. The short-term requirements applied only during a phase-in period between November 1, 2003, and November 1, 2006; the long-term requirements applied thereafter. Id. at 38712. 37 During the phase-in period, new vehicles would be permitted to comply with one of two standards. The two standards were not the same as those previously proposed. The first was a four-tire, 25 percent standard; the second was a less rigorous one-tire, 30 percent standard. Id. at 38712, 38717. The first would have required TPMSs to warn drivers when the tire pressure in one or more tires, up to a total of four tires, fell 25 percent or more below the placard pressure, or to a minimum level of pressure to be specified in the new standard, whichever tire pressure was higher. Id. The second would have required TPMSs to warn drivers when the tire pressure in one tire fell 30 percent or more below the placard pressure, or to a minimum level of pressure to be specified in the new standard, whichever tire pressure was higher. Id. In other words, the second, one-tire standard would not have required a warning when the tire pressure fell in two, three, or four of the vehicle's tires simultaneously, and in roughly equal proportions — i.e., in approximately half of the cases in which vehicles have significantly under-inflated tires. Id. at 38728; see also id. at 38718 (These combinations of significantly under-inflated tires occur frequently enough that current indirect TPMSs would have provided a warning in only about 50 percent of the instances in which NHTSA found significant under-inflation in the February 2001 NCSA survey.). After the phase-in period, the one-tire, 30 percent option would be terminated, and the four-tire, 25 percent option would be mandatory for all new vehicles. Id. at 38712, 38718. 38 The agency explained the new aspects of the draft final rule as follows: 39 The agency created the one-tire, 30 percent option so that vehicle manufacturers could continue to install current indirect TPMSs for several more years, thus providing additional time and flexibility for innovation and technological development. The agency created the other option by adjusting the definition of significantly under-inflated for the four-tire option to 25 percent (instead of 20 percent) so that improved indirect TPMSs and hybrid TPMSs could be used to comply with the TPMS standard. 40 Id. at 38717-18. The OMB Return Letter 41 On February 12, 2002, after reviewing the draft final rule, OMB returned it to NHTSA for reconsideration along with a letter explaining its reasons for doing so. See generally Final Rule, 67 Fed. Reg. at 38712, 38718 (describing the OMB return letter). In the letter, OMB argued that NHTSA should base the final rule on overall vehicle safety concerns, rather than limiting itself to tire safety concerns. Id. at 38712. Specifically, OMB urged NHTSA to consider the impact of regulatory alternatives on the availability of anti-lock brake systems (ABS). OMB Return Letter of Feb. 12, 2002, at 1. 15 OMB predicted that if NHTSA adopted the more relaxed one-tire, 30 percent standard as a long-term requirement, it would provide automakers with an additional incentive to install ABS in new motor vehicles, and accelerate the rate of adoption of ABS. OMB Return Letter at 2. OMB claimed that [b]oth experimental evidence and recent real-world data have indicated a modest net safety benefit from anti-lock brakes. Id. The Final Rule 42 On June 5, 2002, NHTSA published the Final Rule that is the subject of the instant petition for review. Final Rule, 67 Fed. Reg. at 38704. NHTSA rejected OMB's criticisms on three grounds: (1) Although the Safety Act generally requires NHTSA to improve overall vehicle safety, the TREAD Act specifically requires NHTSA to improve tire safety, id. at 38718; (2) there was no reliable basis to conclude that permitting automakers to install current indirect systems would lead to a significant increase in the installation of ABS, id. at 38719; 16 and (3) there was no statistically reliable basis for concluding that ABS reduces fatalities, id., and thus there was no reason to encourage the installation of ABS in new vehicles. 43 Like the draft final rule, the Final Rule is divided into two parts. The first part includes the rule's short-term requirements, which are substantially the same as the short-term requirements described in the earlier draft. The short-term requirements give automakers the discretion to comply with either a four-tire, 25 percent standard, or a one-tire, 30 percent standard. Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 138, 49 C.F.R. § 571.138 pt. S4.2 (2002) (Safety Standard); Final Rule, 67 Fed. Reg. 38722-23. These requirements apply only during the phase-in period between November 1, 2003, and October 31, 2006. Safety Standard, 49 C.F.R. § 571.138 pt. S4.2; Final Rule, 67 Fed. Reg. at 38722, 38738. During each year of the phase-in period, automakers would be required to install TPMSs in increasing percentages of new motor vehicles: 10 percent of vehicles during the first year; 35 percent of vehicles during the second year; 65 percent of vehicles during the third year. Safety Standard, 49 C.F.R. § 571.138 pt. S7; Final Rule, 67 Fed. Reg. at 38738. After October 31, 2006, the long-term requirements would be mandatory for 100 percent of new motor vehicles. Final Rule, 67 Fed. Reg. at 38738. 44 The long-term requirements — which had been the four-tire, 25 percent standard in the draft final rule — are not, however, included in the Final Rule. To allow for the consideration of additional data regarding the requirements for vehicles manufactured after October 31, 2006, the agency has left the long-term requirements unspecified, kept the rulemaking docket open for the submission of new data and analyses, id. at 38722, and invited commenters to address how the performance characteristics of particular types of TPMSs satisfy the [TREAD Act's] requirement that systems provide a warning `when a tire is significantly under-inflated,' id.; see also id. at 38704. The agency has also announced a plan to conduct a study comparing the tire pressures of vehicles without any TPMS to the pressures of vehicles with TPMSs, especially TPMSs that do not comply with the four-tire, 25 percent compliance option. Id. at 38704, 38722, 38738. 45 NHTSA noted that, [b]ased on the record now before the agency, NHTSA tentatively believes that the four-tire, 25 percent option would best meet the mandate in the TREAD Act. Id. at 38704, 38722. However, NHTSA noted, it is possible that the agency may obtain or receive new information that is sufficient to justify a continuation of the options established by this first part of this rule, or the adoption of some other alternative. Id. at 38704; see also id. at 38722. NHTSA therefore plans to issue the long-term requirements by March 1, 2005, after reviewing the public's new comments, the agency's new findings, and any other information submitted by that date. Id. at 38704, 38722. The long-term requirements would apply to vehicles manufactured after October 31, 2006. Id. at 38704, 38722. 46 In addition to promulgating short-term requirements for TPMSs, the agency introduced two different mandatory written instructions for vehicle owner's manuals. Safety Standard, 49 C.F.R. § 571.138 pt. S4.5; see also Final Rule, 67 Fed. Reg. at 38727-28. These written instructions reflected the different capabilities of direct, hybrid, and indirect systems. In vehicles certified to the four-tire, 25 percent standard — which would presumably use direct or hybrid systems — the owner's manual must include the following statement: 47 When the tire pressure monitoring system warning light is lit, one or more of your tires is significantly under-inflated. You should stop and check your tires as soon as possible, and inflate them to the proper pressure as indicated on the vehicle's tire information placard. 48 Safety Standard, 49 C.F.R. § 571.138 pt. S4.5.1; see also Final Rule, 67 Fed. Reg. at 38727. In vehicles certified to the one-tire, 30 percent standard — which would presumably use indirect systems — the owner's manual must contain the following statement: 49 Note: The tire pressure monitoring system on your vehicle will warn you when one of your tires is significantly under-inflated and when some combinations of your tires are significantly under-inflated. However, there are other combinations of significantly under-inflated tires for which your tire pressure monitoring system may not warn you. These other combinations are relatively common, accounting for approximately half the instances in which vehicles have significantly under-inflated tires. For example, your system may not warn you when both tires on the same side or on the same axle of your vehicle are significantly under-inflated. It is particularly important, therefore, for you to check the tire pressure in all of your tires regularly and maintain proper pressure. 50 Safety Standard, 49 C.F.R. § 571.138 pt. S4.5.2 (bold and italics in original); see also Final Rule, 67 Fed. Reg. at 38728. 17 51 Lastly, the agency supported the Final Rule with the following cost/benefit analysis of the two short-term requirements: 52 Four-tire, One-tire, 25 percent 18 30 percent 19 Fatalities prevented per year 20 124 79 Injuries mitigated or prevented per year 21 8,722 5,176 Average net cost per vehicle 22 $53.87 $44.13 Total net cost per year 23 (millions) $862 $706 Net cost per equivalent life saved (millions) 24 $4.3 $5.8 53 Final Rule, 67 Fed. Reg. at 38740-41.