How to Address the Tire Recall Issue

The problem with tire recall is that there is no system in place (as of 2014) to track and monitor tires among retailers who might determine at a glance that a specific tire is part of a recall. As ABC News has shown, there is a real and serious need for system reform because of the invisible hazard that exists in terms of unsafe tires that have been recalled being sold to an unsuspecting public.

Tire manufacturers have a responsibility to be part of that reform and to develop an adequate method of tracking where all tires are delivered and to whom they are sold so that in the case of a recall, those tires might effectively be removed from the public. Once a recall is issued, the tires should be located, by contacting retailers as well as consumers who purchased them, so that there are no “lost” tires.

The sufficient steps to take would include having a chain of custody for every tire sold so that there is a clear paper trail that points out where the tires have gone so that the current owner may be alerted. A method for developing an appropriate chain of custody could include using blockchain technology, which is a type of public ledger that has revolutionized the way that contracts and even currencies are utilized today.

Blockchain technology makes a record of every transaction in a public way, so that anyone who is a stakeholder in the blockchain will see who is the current owner of the underlying (Mizrahi). In this case, the underlying would be the tires, and the blockchain ledger would allow all stakeholders to see every transaction and where the tires currently are. This method would solve the problem of “3rd class mail” notifications, issued like in the notorious Firestone recall scandal (ABC News).

Tire retailers, like Walmart and Sam’s Club, are also responsible for being aware of tire recalls. Walmart was successfully sued following an accident in which a recalled tire was sold from one of its stores (ABC News). This shows that retailers should be monitoring recalls. Another method that could be useful for retailers would be to have access to a government website that provides information on all tire recalls.

Every day, if a manufacturer recalls a tire, the website would be updated to reflect this, and retailers would receive a message alerting them to the update. They can then check the database against their own inventory and have any tires replaced by the manufacturer. For tires that have already been sold to consumers, the blockchain ledger method could be useful here.

The ledger could by synced with the government website so that any updates regarding a specific tire that was sold to a consumer would signal for a message to be sent to that consumer regarding the recalled tire. In this way, blockchain and the government website could work together to bring retailers, consumers and manufacturers all together. This would also help retailers who have tires spread around their supply chain.

Tires would be tracked according to the blockchain ledger, no matter where they are so that every movement or transfer of a tire would be recorded. The government (both federal and state) has a responsibility to address this issue, as public taxes go to funding programs that provide safety for consumers.

A website that helps to track and publicize notice of all recalls so that all tire dealers and consumers can see the database updates is a perfect way for government to become better involved and more responsible in addressing this problem. The steps that the government should take in this issue should include developing a database of recalls where manufacturers can issue public alerts regarding a recall. This database could be publicized on the Internet and retailers could be alerted.

The government could also oversee the development of the tire blockchain ledger to assist consumers, retailers and manufacturers in knowing where any tire is at any given moment. Consumers are stakeholders in this situation too and they share in the responsibility of being informed. Consumers should also do their due diligence in terms of making sure they are purchasing a tire that is safe.

If they purchase a tire that is later recalled, one way they can do ensure that they are notified is to contact the manufacturer and have their purchase entered into the manufacturer’s database so that if there is a recall, the manufacturer could know to alert that consumer. This would allow the consumer to take responsibility for his or her own purchase and also ensure that the consumer is being as safe as possible.

By notifying the manufacturer and having contact information given to the manufacturer in case of a recall, the consumer is protecting him or herself as best as can be expected.