ASA Tire preps POS tire registration software for expected NHTSA regulatory changes

Industry software provider ASA Tire Systems is anticipating that Congress will pass legislation allowing tire dealers to register tires electronically as an alternative to the current paper-form system.

The company says its TreadX program will capture the correct information per U.S. Department of Transportation regulations at the tire dealer’s cash register and electronically transmit the registration data.

Current federal law requires tire dealers to provide customers the ability to register their tires, which is accomplished by giving paper forms to the consumer and relying on the end-user to fill out and submit the documents. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has proposed changing the regulations to permit electronic registrations; the measure is under debate in Congress, and ASA executives expect it to be approved.

The company’s TreadX now offers an interface to CIMS, a provider of registration and recall services for tire manufacturers, brand owners, tire dealers and automobile dealerships. With the new technology, program users collect and enter the DOT numbers and appropriate tire registration information whenever a customer buys a tire. The data is then transmitted via FTP from the software system directly to CIMS. In turn, CIMS registers the tires with the corresponding manufacturers.

“By utilizing the interface between ASA’s TreadX software and CIMS’ Tire Registration Clearinghouse, tire dealers can fully comply with NHTSA regulations by registering every tire at the point-of-sale for the absolute minimum cost,” says CIMS President Paul Kruder.

“Registering tires at the point-of-sale allows tire dealers to achieve NHTSA’s ultimate goal of registering 100 percent of tires sold, which is a ‘win-win’ situation for tire dealers and tire purchasers.” Kruder says.

“It’s well known that most tires go unregistered with the manufacturers. ASA realized that it could use technology to improve on a bad situation,” reports Wayne Croswell, ASA’s president.

“By capturing the DOT number at point-of-sale and electronically sending this data to CIMS, a dealer can provide a great service for its customers,” Croswell contends. “We are excited that the government is taking the right steps in allowing dealers to register tires electronically. In the end, more tires will be registered, and if recalls are necessary, consumers will be served better,” he adds.

“This new feature of TreadX continues to allow our users to improve their operations and the service they provide to their customers,” says Croswell.

For more information, visit www.asatire.com or www.cimstireregistration.com.