Strong support for HB 1467 Properly Inflated Tires

2 people have submitted testimony for this bill so far.

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Testimony

House Bill 1467 increases the efficiency of cars and trucks on Hawaii’s roadways by making proper tire inflation easier. This measure can help Hawai‘i drivers save money, reduce the amount of fossil fuel consumed in Hawai‘i, and increase the safety of Hawaii’s roadways.

While efforts to speed the introduction of alternative fuel vehicles and electric vehicles are needed, some simple steps can be taken to increase the fuel efficiency of vehicles on Hawaii’s roadways today. Some studies suggest that simply maintaining the manufacturer’s recommended tire inflation pressure for a vehicle’s tires can increase that vehicle’s fuel efficiency by upwards of 5%. If all of the over 1.2 million registered vehicles in Hawaii maintained proper tire inflation pressure, the state could decrease fossil fuel consumption by potentially hundreds of thousands of barrels of oil.

What's more, if the nearly 250 million vehicles in the United States have tires that are under-inflated by seven percent, proper inflation could result in national annual savings of $23 billion and 3.3 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions. However, the government estimates that the average vehicle tire is under-inflated by 26 percent, so the potential for savings is far greater.

Unfortunately, many Hawai‘i gas stations fail to provide working tire inflation pumps or devices as to customers. Further, many of the tire inflation devices that are available are either broken, require money to operate, or lack working tire gauges that enable the user to determine when the tire is properly inflated. These situations are deterrents for vehicle operators to maintain tires that are inflated to the recommended tire inflation pressure.

This measure isn’t only about saving money and reducing fossil fuel use. In terms of safety, dry and wet handling performance also suffers with under-inflated tires. The types of crashes that under-inflated tires influence are:  
-- Skidding and/or loss of control of the vehicle in a curve, like an off-ramp coming off the highway or taking a curve at a high speed.
-- Hyrdroplaning on a wet surface which can affect both stopping distance and skidding or loss  of control
-- Crashes from flat tires or blowouts

In fact, the U.S. government has recognized the seriousness of properly inflated tires. Through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems are now required on all passenger cars and light trucks by the 2008 vehicle model year. But even drivers of newer vehicles that have this feature still need operating air pumps to keep the tires properly inflated.

Please forward HB 1467 as a common sense measure to help Hawai‘i residents save money and reduce oil use.

Thank you for the opportunity to testify.

Bill Information

Position Statement

Strong support for

Name of Bill

HB 1467 Properly Inflated Tires

Category

Energy

Description of Bill

House Bill 1467 will help to increase the efficiency of cars on the road in Hawaii by requiring that all gas stations provide free, functional tire pressure gauges and pumps. The problem the bill addresses is the fact that many of Hawaii's gas stations do

Hearing

Tuesday, February 10, 2009 09:00 AM

Sample Talking Points

Simple steps can be taken to increase the fuel efficiency of vehicles on Hawaii’s roadways today. Some studies suggest that simply maintaining the manufacturer’s recommended tire inflation pressure for a vehicle’s tires can increase that vehicle’s fuel efficiency by upwards of 5%. If all of the over 1.2 million registered vehicles in Hawaii maintained proper tire inflation pressure, the state could decrease fossil fuel consumption by potentially hundreds of thousands of barrels of oil.
In terms of safety, dry and wet handling performance also suffers with under inflated tires. The types of crashes that under-inflated tires influence are: skidding and/or loss of control, hydroplaning on a wet surface, and crashes from flat tires or blowouts.

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