The Department of Transport (DfT) has opened a consultation into its plans to outlaw the use of tyres aged 10 and older on trucks, trailers, buses, coaches and minibuses due to serious road safety concerns. The proposals also advocate banning re-treaded tyres of any age on steered axles. The proposals include measures requiring the date of manufacture to be visible on the tyre for the purposes of inspection, and to be maintained and not tampered with. The consultation also seeks views on extending the ban to taxis and private hire vehicles.
The aging tyres issue is being campaigned by Frances Molloy, whose son died in a coach crash in 2012 following a blowout of a 19 year old tyre. Another case which was pertinent to the consultation proposals occurred in September 2017 when a truck on M5 suffered a tyre blowout, crossed the central reservation and collided with on-coming traffic, killing 5 people. At an inquest in February 2019, the coroner concluded that the crash was the result of a tyre failure. In this case the tyre was 18 years old and had suffered structural deterioration due to its age. In both cases the tyres that failed were fitted to the steered axle which was considered to have contributed to their failure.
DfT also published a report on a research to explore the link between tyre age and integrity which suggest that “corrosion is more likely to be found in older tyres” and also highlighted “the ability of moisture to penetrate through cuts in the tread area and the sidewall for older tyres”. The research also implies a change in the hardness of the rubber in older tyres can lead to cracking.
The consultation also proposes that re-treaded tyres should have date of re-treading on it as well as the date of original manufacture. As both of the fatal collisions where HM Coroner referenced the age of the tyre as a contributing factor involved tyre failure on the steered axle of the vehicle, the proposal is to restrict the use of re-treaded tyres of any age from the steered axles.
James Firth, head of road freight regulation at the Freight Transport Association (FTA) said, “With more than 4.2 million of these vehicles on our roads, van operators must be held against the same compliance and safety standards as any other commercial vehicle”.
If the consultation is supported, the new rules could potentially be in force by 2020.
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