Tyre labelling good news for transport sector, says FTA 01 November 2012

Today (1 November 2012) sees the implementation of the EU regulation (1222/2009) on all new tyres on sale in Europe.

These now have to be classified and labelled for fuel efficiency, wet grip and noise performance. The new legislation will ensure that all new tyres are labelled with clear ratings.

It aims to provide operators, fleet managers and transport engineers with clear and relevant information about the quality of the tyre, and to guide them towards choosing a product that is more fuel efficient, has better wet braking and is less noisy.

It's the biggest change to the industry and the way tyres are sold for more than 50 years, with labelling similar to that required for household appliances. It means that buyers can finally compare tyre characteristics, irrespective of brand, before making a purchase.

Like the European energy label, the tyre label will use classes ranging from best-performance (green 'A' class) to worst (red 'G' class). Besides indicating how much the tyre affects the vehicle's fuel efficiency, it will also give information about its performance in wet conditions and its external rolling noise in decibels.

"The new tyre labelling requirements are likely to have more of an effect on driver of passenger cars rather than commercial vehicle operators," comments Andy Mair, FTA head of engineering.

"The road transport sector in recent years has seen an increasingly focussed approach on tyre selection and maintenance, and commercial fleet managers are well ahead of the game when it comes to specifying tyres for commercial vehicles," he adds.

Larger tyres for the heavy end of the commercial vehicle application, which are defined as C3 class tyres are not required to be fitted with the label, but the required information must be detailed in any technical promotional material.

"The labelling regulations do, of course, provide valuable like-for-like guidance, which will enable buyers to see at a glance the specification of a particular tyre – which should help inform purchasing decisions," adds Mair.

Author
Brian Tinham

Related Companies
Freight Transport Association Ltd

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