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The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) realizes that medium and heavy vehicles have different issues than passenger vehicles with respect to tire pressure monitoring. The NHTSA did not have time during the one year deadline imposed by the Transportation Recall Enhancement, Accountability, and Documentation (TREAD) Act to address these complex concerns in its rulemaking.1 This paper explores the unique concerns that accompany commercial vehicle tire pressure monitoring and management that must be considered before a potential regulation for the commercial vehicle industry can be implemented successfully.

With the increasing interest in applying Central Tire Inflation Systems (CTIS) to commercial heavy duty truck applications, a variety of vehicle integration issues must be addressed. Most system installations to date have been handled on a retrofit basis, but CTIS equipped vehicles will soon become available through OEM's. This raises the need for the establishment of recommended practices in the design and application of systems. Issues addressed include air system requirements, wheel integration, and potential safety issues such as brake priority and over-speed detection and correction. Use of electronic data interchange can result in diagnostic standardization, and enhanced capabilities such as integrated load sensing. This paper discusses integration issues, as well as potential future developments in tire pressure control systems.