(adds consumer group reaction, paragraph 13)
By John Crawley
WASHINGTON, June 23 (Reuters) - The Bush administration on Monday issued the first new rules in more than 30 years for testing vehicle tire performance, but regulators retreated from their initial recommendation for tougher standards.
The update ordered by Congress in the wake of the deadly Firestone tire debacle and finalized by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration will cover nearly 300 million new tires when it takes effect in 2007, and could cost manufacturers as much as $30 million per year.
"Without question, these new performance requirements will improve tire safety," Jeffrey Runge, the safety agency's administrator said in a statement.
Major tire companies had no immediate reaction. "We're basically studying them very closely," said Dan Zielinski, a spokesman for the Rubber Manufacturers Association.
Regulators say the long-delayed test criteria will increase tire strength, endurance and heat resistance, and will save up to four lives annually and reduce injuries by up to 100.
The rules emphasize light trucks, which include sport utility vehicles, pickups and minivans. These vehicles are increasingly popular with consumers and generally have more tire problems than passenger cars.
While durability and performance have improved, driver demands on tires have become more rigorous.
To meet tougher operating conditions, the government will require that new tires undergo tests at higher speeds and heavier loads over a longer period of time. It also added a test for measuring tire stress caused by under-inflation.
Investigators determined that road friction and under-inflation was a factor in the Firestone tire saga in which crashes tied to tread separations and blowouts killed 271 people and prompted recalls of millions of tires in 2000 and 2001. Most cases involved tires on Ford Explorer SUVs.
That debacle prompted landmark congressional action mandating an overhaul of key auto safety regulations.
Under pressure from industry, the government eased or deferred some standards in its final rule. For instance, regulators in 2002 called for a longer high-speed endurance test than was adopted.
They also initially sought new tests on the affects of tire aging and road hazards, but those were deferred. Finally, NHTSA wanted to phase in standards over a two- or three-year period but gave tire makers and auto manufacturers four years.
Consumer group Public Citizen, which was a powerful force in the drive for the Firestone recalls, credited the new rules as a good step forward. "But there are some big loopholes," said the organization's president, Joan Claybrook. She was disappointed the aging and road hazard tests were not included, and that industry can put off taking any action until 2007.
Between 5 percent and 11 percent of tires on the road would fail the new tests, NHTSA estimates. Regulators projected a one-third failure rate under their 2002 proposal.
Flat tires or blowouts cause an estimated 23,000 crashes per year, and the rate for light trucks is three times that of passenger cars. Tire problems were cited in slightly more than 1 percent of all fatal crashes involving light vehicles.