On Tuesday, Fox Business posted an article about new regulations about tire purchases in California.

The article reports:

California regulators on Monday approved new rules that will restrict which replacement tires can be sold across the state in an effort to meet energy-efficiency standards.

The new regulations, unanimously adopted by the California Energy Commission (CEC), will phase out tires that fail to meet these standards — a move that could restrict a large portion of the tires currently available to drivers.

“This ultimately is about protecting consumers,” said David Hochschild, Chairman of the California Energy Commission, as reported by KCRA-TV. “I see this as sheltering the public from higher costs in the long run.”

…The new rules target rolling resistance: the amount of energy it takes for a tire to roll down a road. Lower rolling resistance allows vehicles to consume less gasoline or electricity.

While factory-installed tires on new vehicles typically feature low rolling resistance, drivers often replace them with cheaper, less efficient tires. The new rules aim to ensure that replacement tires maintain energy efficiency levels similar to those of original factory tires.

As long as the tires I put on my car are safe, the state has no business telling me what those tires should be. It would be interesting to check the campaign donations to the people who passed this bill. The tires now required evidently are more expensive than the tires people normally buy. There are also some questions as to the performance of the required tires in inclement weather. What is the profit margin on these tires? What campaign donations have the companies who manufacture these tires recently made? I hate to be cynical, but eighteen years of research for rightwinggranny.com has taught me that regulations often happen for reasons other than those stated.