Effect of Text Format on Determining Tires' Date of Manufacture

Abstract

Previous research indicates that most consumers are unaware that older tires can deteriorate and lead to tread separation which could result in crashes. Even if they were to know about this hazard, the task of determining the date of manufacture (DOM) on tires is difficult. In the U.S., consumers must decode a 4 digit number at the end of a longer U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) identification number in small, black print embossed onto black sidewalls. Eighty-three participants (45 students and 38 adult non-students) were asked to decode 6 different date of manufacture (DOM) markings. Analyses showed that people have difficulty with determining dates in the current U.S. DOT format and that date formats resembling common U.S. date representations were more understandable to participants. Additionally, only half of the participants reported having knowledge of tire aging issues and few have looked at the DOT identification number before participating in this research. Discussed are implications for date formatting, followed by guidance on designing a more consumer-friendly DOM.

Evaluation of Vehicle Tyre Aging Awareness as a Potential Hazard to Road Users in Ghana

“…Thus, tyres are very important components of vehicle composition and their safety must be assured and not neglected. This is because tyres are the only part of a vehicle that have direct contact with the roadway and expected to be robust enough to bear both the weight of the vehicle and its cargo through many thousands of miles of travel, while staying pliant enough to ensure passenger comfort [2]. Tyres are also expected to be durable and versatile enough.…”

“…Tyre maintenance is one of the basic motor vehicle maintenance practices that is identified that drivers do not practice as recommended. For instance, according to [2], many drivers do not inflate tyres at the recommended pressure. This can result in tyre failure and loss of vehicle control and other side effects such as poor fuel economy [11].…”

“…In addition, NHTSA and many tyre manufacturers recommended that tyre inflation pressure should be checked at least once a month [2]. All tyre manufacturers communicate to tyre consumers the characteristics and conditions (i.e.…”

“…maintenance guidelines) of their tyres. These maintenance guidelines mostly are in the vehicle user or owner's manual and also placed as a sticker placard located on the driver's side door jam or on the glove box door [2]. However, many tyre consumers are unaware This work is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.…”

“…This is because spare and recreational tyres are stored in extreme temperature conditions for longer period [13,14] which can result in tread separation (i.e. tread detaches from rest of the tyre) and/or a tyre blowout [2].…”