Colleagues will recall that in 2013 the Government issued
guidance advising bus operators against fitting tyres over 10
years old to the front axles of their vehicles. This has proven
extremely effective. Since June 2017 136,263 vehicles have been
checked by DVSA at annual test and 82 have been found to be
non-compliant, a rate of 0.06 per cent.
However, we have been determined to go further. In November
2018 the Government updated the Driver and Vehicle Standards
Agency guidance on maintaining roadworthiness, to the effect
that tyres of 10 years of age or older should not be used on
the front or steering axles of heavy goods vehicles as well as
buses and coaches.
All DVSA encounters with GB heavy vehicles, including buses and
coaches, identified as using older tyres will be followed up.
Between 23 November and 25 January, DVSA carried out 7,500
enforcement checks and found 14 vehicles using older tyres.
This reinforces the picture already built up of very low levels
of infringement. The changes to maintenance best practice now
provide a clear basis for referring cases to Traffic
Commissioners when guidance has been disregarded.
The DfT and its agencies continue to work together to ensure
vehicle operators understand how to maintain the safety and
roadworthiness of their vehicles, including their tyres, and to
enforce any non-compliance.
This strengthening of the roadworthiness guidance followed
amendments to the MOT and annual test requirement in 2018 to
tighten the control of the use of any tyres exhibiting deep
cuts to the tread area. These changes, which apply to all road
vehicles subject to MOT tests, were developed in response to
new evidence obtained from a DfT funded collision
investigation. This indicated that structural damage to tyres
was possible due to corrosion caused by water ingress. As a
result, from 20th May 2018 any vehicle found
with tyres that have deep cuts will fail their MOT test. This
is another example of how the DfT continue to make improvements
to vehicle maintenance requirements based on available
evidence, so as to improve roadworthiness and safety of
vehicles on UK roads.
In addition to these measures, the Government has also
commissioned pioneering new research to strengthen our
understanding of the effect of age on the integrity of road
vehicle tyres. No other country in the world has done work of
this nature – we are pushing the boundaries of technical
research in order to inform policy and ensure the safety of all
road users.
The present work has been commissioned by the Department for
Transport and is led by the UK’s Transport Research Laboratory.
The project has enlisted expertise from a leading laboratory in
the United States, Smithers Rapra, to undertake testing and
analysis to find out more about the structural qualities of
those tyres. Thirty one used tyres of different ages, taken
from the UK market, have been sent to this laboratory. The
sample tyres are all from a single manufacturer and have been
assembled so that accurate comparisons can be made. This
analysis will be used to address the question of how ageing
affects tyres’ integrity. I understand that it will be the
first of its kind to be published using this methodology.
The Government is committed to evidence-based policymaking, in
order to ensure the safety of all road users. Stakeholders and
the public expect the Government to act on complete and
appropriate evidence, and decisions would otherwise risk legal
challenge by affected parties. As I informed the House on
November 23, we expect the outcome of this research to be
reported in the spring. It will be used alongside existing
evidence to inform Government policy.
