TIA: Where is the fuel efficiency rule?

From Rubber News comes word that the Tire Industry Association (TIA) has asked Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., to send a letter of inquiry to NHTSA (the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) about the status of the pending consumer education program under the tire fuel efficiency labeling final rule. The final rule was published in March 2010 but failed include some crucial information, such as the label content and format, the tire fuel efficiency testing standard, and how the consumer eduction portion of the program would be developed and funded. TIA has presented itself as the logical third-party administrator of the consumer education part of the program, in light of TIA’s advocacy of a public-private partnership for implementing the program.