The Tire Retread Information Bureau (TRIB) has an agenda of educating the public about retreading. The organization routinely responds to letters from the general publc.

The following is an example of popular public opinion and how TRIB helps fight it:

Dear TRIB:

Today, my wife was returning from the Carolinas.

She and her passenger didn’t see the truck, but they felt the kachunk of a large retread as it hit the front and eventually the back of our van as it was ridden over. We’re into over $3,500 damage.

This happened in three lanes of traffic, she in the middle between two other 18-wheelers.

She has no idea who lost that tread.

We feel lucky. Both survived.

How can anybody defend this death trap?

Dave Burns

Richmond, IN

Dear Mr. Burns:

On behalf of our entire industry I was sorry to read your e-mail about the damage to your van and the scare your wife and her passenger must have encountered. However, it is important for you to know that the piece of tire that hit your vehicle may NOT have been from a retread.

You may be surprised to learn that much of the tire debris on our highways comes from tires that have never been retreaded.

More information about the true causes of tire debris (also known as rubber on the road or tire alligators) can be found on our Web site, www.retread.org, in the Rubber on the Road: Issues & Answers section.

Tire debris on our highways is mainly caused by improper tire maintenance, and it does not matter if the tire is a retread or one that has never been retreaded. Tires that are improperly maintained – underinflated, mismatched sizes on dual wheel positions, misaligned, driven with less than the legal amount of remaining tread, etc. – will fail, given enough time.

And when they do, motorists such as your wife unfortunately suffer the consequences.

This is why our association spends so much of our time and efforts in educating the motoring public (both truckers and owners of vans, pickups and passenger vehicles) about the importance of proper tire inflation and maintenance.

Retreaded tires are safely used by millions of vehicles, including school buses, emergency vehicles such as fire engines, airlines (both commercial and military), small package delivery services – including the U.S. Postal Service – and all types of large trucks.

The federal government believes so much in the safety and environmental benefits of retreaded tires that there is even a Federal Executive Order (13193) MANDATING the use of retreaded tires on federal fleet vehicles.

To blame retreaded tires for the damage caused by tire debris on our highways is the same as blaming a vehicle for an accident caused by a drunk driver. The blame is simply misplaced.

I realize the above is small consolidation to your checkbook, but we wanted you to know the “rest of the story.”

Finally, we are mailing you a complete Retread Tire Information Packet and a video about the true causes of rubber on the road. It is being sent via Priority Mail today.

Please feel free to phone me at the toll free number shown below if you have any questions about the above or the materials you will be receiving.

Sincerely,

Harvey Brodsky

Managing Director

TRIB