The California Air Resources Board (CARB) has mandated that vehicle tire pressures must be checked during routine service and in line with the recommended factory settings.
The initiative comes as part of a bid to cut down on under-inflated tires, which use more fuel and by extension, emit more greenhouse gases. While the law was initiated in 2009, the law was revised to include maintenance shops but exempts auto body shops, auto glass installers, auto dismantlers, and auto parts retailers.
Despite being well intentioned .here are numerous problems with the law; tire pressures can vary based on the weather, how hot or cold the tires are, and customers with nitrogen filled tires can decline the service if the shop doesn’t have a nitrogen re-filling system. The law also smacks of yet another intrusions of an overly paternalistic government. Perhaps if CARB legislators kept their mouths shut, less hot air would escape, leading to a further reduction in emissions.
[Source: Consumer Reports]