California is gearing up to make tire replacements significantly more expensive for millions of drivers, and critics say the move will do little to help the environment while hitting the state’s less affluent motorists the hardest.
The California Energy Commission, acting under a 2003 state law, has approved new regulations that will require all tires sold in the state to meet specific “low rolling resistance” standards starting in 2029. The requirements will become stricter each year through 2033. The goal, according to supporters, is to cut fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.
But a former California congressman who spent 25 years in the retail automotive industry is warning that the rule will have severe unintended consequences.
70% of Tires Could Be Banned
John Campbell, who represented California in the House from 2005 to 2015 and previously served in both chambers of the state legislature, says the regulations will make 70% of all tires currently sold in California illegal, according to an op-ed he wrote for The Daily Wire.
Campbell, who now lives in Arizona after leaving California a decade ago, argues that the new standards are the latest example of Sacramento imposing costs on everyday items in the name of “saving the planet” or “keeping us safe.”
California already has the highest gas prices in the nation and consistently ranks among the top five states for the most expensive car insurance rates. Now, tires are set to join that list.
The Cost to the Average Driver
The regulation’s own analysis highlights the burden on typical drivers. According to Campbell, the most common car to get a replacement tire in California is a 2017 Honda Civic. Yet the commission acknowledges that only half of the tires currently available in that size meet the 2029 standards, and none meet the 2033 standards.
For that Civic, a set of four tires currently marketed as “low rolling resistance” costs an average of $629.48. In contrast, the average price for all tires in that size category is just $325.20 for a set of four.
That means a person replacing tires on a nine-year-old car could pay over $300 more—assuming compliant tires are even available. And that estimate doesn’t account for price spikes that could occur as consumer choice shrinks starting in 2029.
“When people on the Left raise the cost of something, like taxes, they assume people will just gladly pay it and move on,” Campbell wrote. “But real people don’t do that.”
What Drivers Might Do Instead
Campbell predicts several likely responses from cash-strapped Californians. Some might buy used tires imported from other states, since the regulation only covers new tires. Such tires would be cheaper but could have less tread, be older, and pose safety risks. Others might drive to Las Vegas for the weekend and buy new tires for $300 less, costing California jobs and sales tax revenue. Still others might simply keep driving on old, worn tires until they fail—a safety hazard that could lead to more accidents.
“It will be illegal to buy non-compliant tires in California, but not illegal to install them,” Campbell noted, suggesting a gray or black market could emerge.
Questioning the Fuel Savings
Governor Gavin Newsom, who has touted the regulation as a money-saver, says motorists will save $1 billion a year in fuel costs. But Campbell is skeptical.
“Low rolling resistance tires only save fuel when traveling at high sustained speeds,” he wrote. “Have you even driven in L.A. or San Francisco? In stop-and-go traffic or on surface streets with lots of signals, there is no savings.”
Most driving in California’s major cities occurs in exactly that kind of congested, stop-and-go conditions, undercutting the environmental rationale.
Exemptions for the Wealthy
Campbell also points out an irony: while the rule will squeeze budgets of drivers of modest cars like a nine-year-old Honda Civic, it exempts low-volume vehicles like Bentleys.
“The Beverly Hills leftist will have no restrictions on tires for their Bentley,” he wrote, adding that “no limousine leftist in Sacramento feels they need to live by the laws they impose on everyone else.”
He noted that income inequality in California is worse than in red states like Texas and Tennessee, and argued that regulations like this one are a key reason why.
Notional Environmental Gains
Even on the environmental front, Campbell says the benefits are negligible. “As average Californians suffer under the burdensome costs of another new regulation, there is one thing they can know,” he wrote. “They will help offset perhaps a second or two of China’s carbon emissions each year.”
The regulation is part of a broader pattern of environmentally motivated rules in California, but its practical impacts—both on household budgets and on driver safety—remain deeply contentious.
Source: www.dailywire.com — https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-road-to-hell-is-paved-with-the-golden-states-new-tire-regulations