A few years back, a bumper sticker with a blunt message enjoyed some fleeting popularity in a few of the Northwest's outer reaches:
"We don't give a damn how they did it in California."
And if the Washington Legislature agrees to grant the Department of Commerce's request to regulate tire efficiency, those old stickers just might start gaining traction again. Right up there with "Don't tread on me."
The tire idea afoot in Olympia echoes a similar move in the Golden State, where lawmakers gave California's commerce department the authority to set the rules on rolling resistance.
For years — and for the sake of keeping standards consistent for manufacturers — the federal government has been in charge of setting all the rules for tires.
But as evidence emerged showing that freer-wheeling tires help reduce emissions by improving fuel efficiency, California decided the federal rules didn't go far enough to cut down on pollution. So lawmakers there allowed the state's commerce department to tighten up the regulations.
On the surface, it seems well-intentioned. Making sure tires roll smoother and generate less friction benefits the environment and ensures consumers are getting higher-quality tires. All good things, right?
"There are very few other transportation policies in the short-term that can reduce emissions by this magnitude," Senior Energy Policy Specialist Steven Hershkowitz said during a web-based state Commerce Department presentation last week.
Here's the rub, though: It also means the tires cost more. Manufacturers put more into making lower-resistance tires and they have to retool for tires bound for California's tire stores. That means prices go up for the stores and ultimately, consumers.
If you've bought tires recently, you know how expensive they've gotten. If you drive an older vehicle, you might be paying more for new rubber than your whole ride is worth.
Sure, the more-efficient tires could save money on gas — perhaps hundreds of dollars over time. But again, if you're making do with a 15-year-old SUV, the odds are good you're doing so because you can't afford a newer one. Paying more for a set of tires that might outlast the vehicle they're mounted on doesn't add up to much of a bargain.
And wait till the trucking industry and other businesses that run on deliveries, passenger transports or couriers catch wind of this. Think they'll just swallow the higher costs?
Once somebody gets the specific proposals down on paper and introduces it in the Legislature in the upcoming 60-day special session, which starts Jan. 8, there'll no doubt be opportunities for public comment and debate.
While we're all in favor of reducing deadly emissions, mandates that place backbreaking financial burdens on significant segments of the population are unfair and unlikely to be embraced by the general public.
We predict many folks around the Yakima Valley would sooner continue driving on worn, unsafe tires than trying to figure out how to cover the cost of premium sets.
Meantime, manufacturers and distributors are free to keep making better tires available to whoever can afford them. If it helps the environment, it helps all of us.
But the idea of forcing people to pay top dollar for tires they can't afford should come to a screeching halt.
