Banning Tyres Aged 10 Years and Older – Motion 17 (2018) - Supporting the "Tyred" Campaign
No. 382/2020
Our Ref: V4/20
To: All Branches
Dear Colleagues,
Banning Tyres Aged 10 Years and Older – Motion 17 (2018) - Supporting the "Tyred" Campaign - Government announces ban on old coach, bus and lorry tyres from UK roads in new measures to improve road safety through legislation due before Parliament in the autumn:
Further to LTB 530/19 this is an update on the "Tyred" Campaign which the Union has been fully supporting following the carriage of Motion 17(2018). In recent years the safety of older tyres on heavy goods vehicles, buses and coaches has become a matter of increasing concern following a series of fatal accidents on UK roads. In September 2012, a catastrophic failure of a 19-year-old tyre, fitted to the steered axle of a large coach, led to the loss of three lives.
In September 2017, a truck travelling on the M5 suffered a tyre blow-out of an 18-year-old tyre and collided with oncoming traffic with five lives lost in that accident. The accident investigations in both cases concluded that the tyre failure was as a direct result of its age - both tyres were nearly 20 years old.
The 'Tyred' Campaign was launched in 2017 by Frances Molloy from Liverpool, the mother of a victim of the 2012 fatal crash - Michael Molloy. This week, on 15 July 2020, Government Roads Minister Baroness Vere of Norbiton announced that Tyres aged 10 years and older will be banned from lorries, buses and coaches on roads in England, Scotland and Wales in a boost to road safety.
The ban follows an extensive investigation, including research commissioned by the Department for Transport, which indicates ageing tyres suffer corrosion which could cause them to fail. The move will make it illegal to fit tyres aged 10 years or older to the front wheels of lorries, buses and coaches, and all wheels of minibuses.
The new law will include the following measures:
• Banning tyres aged 10 years and older.
• A Requirement for tyres to have a clearly visible date of manufacture on them, ensuring older tyres are easy to spot.
The secondary legislation will be laid in the autumn and will also apply to re-treaded tyres – with the date of re-treading to be marked – making the age of the tyre clearly visible. The Minister said that in the same way that you wouldn’t drive a car with faulty brakes, ensuring tyres are fit for purpose is crucial in making every journey safer.
Taking this step will give drivers across the country confidence their lorries, buses and coaches are truly fit for use – a safety boost for road users everywhere. This change is in no small way the result of years of campaigning, particularly from Frances Molloy and her 'Tyred' campaign supported by the CWU and a number of other organisations and individuals. Drivers, owners and operators are responsible for the safety of their vehicles.
This will also now include ensuring vehicle tyres meet the new requirements.
The government will also be asking DVSA to continue checking tyre age as part of their routine roadside enforcement activities and adding an additional assessment to the annual MOT test.
Yours sincerely
Dave Joyce
National Health, Safety & Environment Officer
LTB
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