Consumers cannot read tyre date codes - researchers

ERJ staff report (DS)

Las Vegas, Nevada -- A poster due to be presented today at the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting in Las Vegas says that consumers cannot read the date code on tyre sidewalls.

The paper reports on experiments in which 83 people were shown how to read a tyre sidewall and then asked to identify the date of manufacture of six different tyres. Most were unable to correctly identify the correct date of manufacture.

Additionally, only half of the

participants reported having knowledge of tyre aging issues and few have looked at the DOT

identification number before participating in this research. This data relies heavily on data generated by Sean Kane.

The report concludes, "The method by which consumers are currently

informed of the date of manufacture of tyres needs to be changed. A

change is necessary because safety is involved,

particularly the tyre aging issue. One limiting factor to

making the date more apparent and easier to use is that

tyre manufacturers are currently required to give the

DOT number as specified by law."

The paper was authored by Jesseca R. I. Taylor and Michael S. Wogalter of Department of Psychology, North Carolina State University

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Abstract of paper

Full paper from Human Factors and Ergonomics Society