The proposal is to ban the use of 10-year-old tyres or older on these types of vehicles, and follows a research project last year to look at the impact of tyre age on road safety.
Transport secretary Chris Grayling said: “Emerging evidence and leading expert testimony shows us that we need to ban tyres over the age of 10 years from larger vehicles based upon the ‘precautionary principle’ – a move that will make our roads safer for everyone.”
It follows the ‘Tyred’ campaign, led by Frances Molloy whose son Michael was among three people killed in a coach crash in 2012. The collision was found to have been caused by the failure of a 19-year-old tyre on the coach’s front axle.
The campaign was highlighted by Transport Engineer last March in a cover feature, which questioned whether industry reaction to the crash had been sufficient (see the link below).
The DVSA updated its Guide to Maintaining Roadworthiness in November to include a recommendation that tyres of 10 years or older should not be used on the front axle of HGVs, as well as buses and coaches, but this is the first time that legislation has been proposed.