We might have known, for example, that age, underinflation, overheating and travelling long distances are the most important ways to kill a tyre. (By contrast, IRTE’s irtec tyre accreditation scheme for technicians can help preserve them.)
Which is the worst culprit? That work doesn’t say, partly because the authors didn’t know the service history of the tyre samples, and they did not have enough tyres to draw significant conclusions.
But they do suggest ways to find out. One idea involves testing tyres at different points in their life, and comparing those results to what they have had to endure. The state of a tyre whose pressure has always been kept topped up could be compared to that of one experiencing instances of overheating. Playing off one variable against another should reveal what really matters, and what doesn’t. Variations between individual tyres and models should disappear with enough data.
Whether or not such a large-scale study is even possible, it is actually redundant: the industry is already generating this data. Ask the operators themselves, particularly those users of TPMS systems that already manage and record this information. If the RSPB can organise thousands of birdwatchers across the UK to carry out a survey about their back gardens, why couldn’t one of the road haulage trade bodies do the same for tyres?
It now seems likely that the government will ban tyres more than ten years old. This will undoubtedly improve safety. But is it the best solution from an engineering point of view? The authors seem to favour inspections rather than an outright ban. And isn’t there a risk that this approach will stunt our understanding of tyre degradation? It might stop us asking why. Further study could help us understand tyres’ failure modes, insights that could help develop predictive models. This is the modern approach to maintenance: only replace a part when it is just about to fail. If only we knew more, we could keep people safe, and get every last mile out of our assets.