We want to call your readers' attention to an error in the above article, Why rubber meets the road. The writer continually stated that the tire debris on our highways was from retreads, when the truth is that much of the rubber on the road comes from tires that have never been retreaded.

Tire debris (also called rubber on the road & road alligators) is caused by improper tire maintenance, with underinflation being the main culprit, followed closely by overloading, mismatching of dual tires on trucks, improper tire repairs, tires with less than the legal limit of tread remaining and severely misaligned vehicles.

To blame retreads for tire debris on our highways is the same as blaming a vehicle for an accident caused by a drunk driver. The blame is simply misplaced.

Retreads are safely used by school buses and city buses, fire engines and other emergency vehicles, commercial and military airlines, the U.S. Postal Service, FED EX, UPS and many other types of commercial vehicles.

Thanks to retreads Americans save hundreds of millions of gallons of oil every year and keep millions of tires out of landfills. Also,everything we buy costs less than if trucks were required to only drive on new tires.

For more information about the environmental and economic benefits of retreaded tires send an email to info@retread.org and be certain to include your complete mailing address. We will send you our Reputable Retreading CD/DVD packet and our Understanding Retreading booklet, with our compliments.

Harvey Brodsky Managing Director Tire Retread & Repair Information Bureau www.retread.org>