Truemors
How a retread tire is made 
Opinion
Barry Artiste, Now Public Contributor
Dr. David Suzuki's small steps in helping the environment has many great options for the public to follow in helping the environment, small steps we can all do painlessly.
Though one of his small steps programs "Retreading your Tires" instead of buying new makes a mountain of sense. Unfortunately, Consumers will have little choice of Tire retread manufacturers when we exchange our old worn out tires for new retreads at local depots. Chinese manufacturered retread tires will be the Norm for Canadians, and with China's continued track
record in Quality Assurance, do you really want to entrust your families life on Chinese made Retreads?
Retreads normally done on big transport truck tires because of the prohibitive cost of new truck tires.
How many of us have travelled along the highway and noticed shredded tires along the side of the road?
That my friend is a retread.
Retreads are strips of rubber with a moulded tread glued in place over a worn tire. A Retread is only as safe as the glue that holds it in place and last half as long as a new tire and their speed rating is undetermined versus a new tire.
Check you insurance policy as well, you may be in for a big surprise if you are involved in an accident from a defective blown tire caused by retread failure. Insurance companies may walk away as you may be on the hook to pay the other parties damages or if you are the victim, you may be out of luck as well if the other party has no means to pay your damages. China normally don't give refunds or pay for personal damages caused by defective workmanship as many cases in the media attest, everything from lead toys to poison pet food.
No Thanks Dave, I'll stick to new tires and look for other ways to do my part for the environment. For some crazy reason, my families safety is more important than a thin strip of glued rubber.
[q url="http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/westcoastnews/story.html?id=dad1e8b4-f266-4d18-b953-c57e9e086a8a"]Small StepsDavid Suzuki,
Special to the SunPublished: Monday, March 03, 2008
When you're next in the market for new tires for your automobile, consider the more environmentally -- and less costly -- option of retreaded tires. These recycled tires are not the same as used tires. Retreaded tires reduce the amount of rubber shipped to the landfill, use significantly less oil in production and are less costly for consumers.
For more information: http://www.retread.org/
David Suzuki's Small Steps appears Monday, Wednesday and Friday. /q]
Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (1)
at 17:18 on June 30th, 2008
Barry Artiste may mean well, but he has his "facts"all wrong. First, his statement, "How many of us have traveled along the highway and noticed shredded tires along the side of the road? That my friend is a retread. " may be his perception, but the real facts are different. There are many studies attesting to the fact that much of the tire debris on our highways comes from tires that have NEVER been retreaded. These studies can be found at www.retread.org.
The rubber on the road we all see comes from tires that have been improperly maintained. Underinflation, overloading, mismatching of tires on dual wheel assemblies, improper tire repairs, tires with less than the legal limit of tread remaining, etc. It doesn't matter if the tire is a retread or one that has never been retreaded. If it is driven long enough and is not properly maintained it WILL fail and throw rubber all over the road.
Second, retreads are NOT "glued" onto a tire casing. Mr. Artiste and anyone else who wants to see how tires are actually retreaded should visit a retread plant. We will be happy to arrange a tour of a retread plant anywhere in North America. They sure won't see any glue!
Third, insurance companies couldn't care less whether a tire is a retread or one that has never been retreaded. I would love to know where Mr. Artiste got that "fact."
The safety of retreaded tires has been proven over billions of miles by millions of vehicles worldwide. Thousands of school buses and municipal buses routinely and safely use retreads, as do commercial and military airlines, taxis, small package delivery services such as Fed Ex, UPS and even the U.S. Postal Service, along with fire engines and other emergency vehicles and all other types of trucks and cars. I personally drive on retreads and have been safely doing so for more than 30 years.
The U.S. government feels so strongly that retreaded tires are a major contributor to the environment that there is a Federal Executive Order (13149) MANDATING the use of retreaded tires on many types of federal fleet vehicles.
To blame retreads for the pieces of rubber we see all over the highway is the same as blaming a vehicle for an accident caused by a drunk driver. The blame is simply misplaced.
I hope readers of this entry will not take my word for any of the above, but will contact us for a free Retread Tire Information Packet including a CD & DVD which will provide much more factual information about the economic and environmental benefits of retreaded tires. We can be reached toll free from anywhere in North America at 888-473-8732 or by email at: harvey@retread.org.
Harvey Brodsky
Managing Director
Tire Retread & Repair Information Bureau/TRIB
900 Weldon Grove
Pacific Grove, CA 93950 USA
Toll free from anywhere in North America 888-473-8732
Telephone: 831-372-1917, Fax 831-372-9210
Cell 831-917-6449
E-mail: info@retread.org
www.retread.org - A GREAT SITE TO BOOKMARK AND REVISIT OFTEN!
The retread industry is one of the GREENEST industries in the world! Go retreads...GO GREEN!