July 23, 2026
Mr. Wicker (for himself and Mr. Warnock) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
To require the Secretary of Transportation to revise certain Federal motor vehicle safety standards to advance tire technologies, and for other purposes.
Section 1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the Tire Safety Modernization Act of 2026
.
Sec. 2. Advancing tire technologies
(a) Elimination of outdated testing requirements for tire performance in FMVSS No. 139
Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Transportation (referred to in this section as the Secretary) shall revise section 571.139 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, to remove the sample provision, testing, and performance requirements that relate to tire strength and tubeless tire bead unseating resistance for passenger car and light truck radial tires, as described in S6.5 and S6.6 of that section.
(b) Definition of chunking in FMVSS No. 139
Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall—
(1)
revise the definition of chunking
in S3 of section 571.139 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, by striking sidewall.
and inserting sidewall, except that, in the case of a snow tire, chunking means the breaking away of pieces of the tread or sidewall exposing reinforcing materials of the tire.
; and
(2)
conduct a review of the definition of chunking
in S3 of that section to determine whether the definition requires further revision or clarification with respect to non-snow tires, including all-season tires, taking into account—
(A)
international definitions and standards, current industry best practices, and testing standards for modern passenger car and light truck radial tires; and
(B)
currently available data on motor vehicle safety and tire performance.
(c) Performance requirements for tire endurance and low pressure under FMVSS No. 139
Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall revise section 571.139 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, to clarify that visual evidence of chunking constitutes a failure under the performance requirements for tire endurance and low pressure described in that section.
(d) Elimination of outdated testing requirements for tire performance in FMVSS No. 119
Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall revise section 571.119 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, to remove the testing and performance requirements for, and references to, tire strength as applied to radial light truck tires and radial commercial tires as specified in S6.2 of that section.
(e) High-Speed testing protocols for tire performance
Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall promulgate regulations establishing uniform high-speed performance testing protocols for passenger car and light truck tires, which shall be consistent with sections 3.6.1.4 through 3.6.1.7 and section 3.6.2.2 of Amendment 2 to the United Nations Global Technical Regulation on Tyres (numbered GTR No. 16), including requirements for speed symbols and sustained operation at incrementally increasing speeds under specified load, pressure, and temperature conditions sufficient to verify structural integrity and safety margins.
(f) GAO study
Not earlier than 3 years and not later than 5 years after the date of the publication in the Federal Register of the final rules as promulgated pursuant to subsections (a) through (e), or 8 years after the date of enactment of this Act, whichever is sooner, the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives a report that—
(1)
evaluates the implementation of this section and its impact on the market for passenger car and light truck tires, including the safety and availability of passenger car and light truck tires;
(2)
examines international definitions and standards, current industry best practices, and testing standards for modern passenger car and light truck radial tires with respect to chunking of non-snow tires, including all-season tires; and
(3)
provides recommendations to the Secretary and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives for any additional measures to improve the safety and availability of passenger car and light truck tires.