Passenger · Inspecting a Passenger Vehicle

A bus is being inspected and one of its front tires turns out to be a retread. What does federal regulation say?

1.The bus may not be operated, because regrooved, recapped, and retreaded tires are all prohibited on the bus's front steering wheelsCorrect answer

2.The bus may be operated, because a retread is acceptable on any wheel as long as it meets the minimum tread depth requirement

3.The bus may be operated, because the prohibition covers regrooved tires only, not recapped or retreaded ones on any wheel

4.The bus may be operated, but only as long as no passengers are aboard for that run until the tire is replaced

Explanation

A bus with a retreaded tire on a front wheel may not be operated. 49 CFR 393.75(d) states that no bus shall be operated with regrooved, recapped or retreaded tires on the front wheels, a restriction written for buses specifically rather than for commercial vehicles generally. A steering-axle tire failure on a loaded bus takes away steering control with passengers aboard, which is why the rule removes all three repaired-casing categories from that one position instead of regulating them by condition. The wrong options each narrow or soften the rule: minimum tread depth is a separate requirement under 49 CFR 393.75(b) and meeting it does not make a retread legal in that position, the prohibition names all three categories rather than regrooving alone, and nothing in the section turns on whether passengers happen to be aboard.

Source: 49 CFR 393.75(d)

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A bus is being inspected and one of its front tires turns out to be a retread. What does federal regulation say?

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