Old tyres will be illegal under proposed government legislation

The government wants to introduce legislation to make it illegal for HGVs to run on tyres more than 10-years old. It will launch a consultation on options to ban older tyres from use on lorries, buses and coaches to keep the roads safe.

It follows a government project last year to look at whether or not the age of a tyre has a direct affect on its safety.

Transport secretary Chris Grayling said: “Keeping people safe on our roads is our priority, and we have been working hard to understand the link between tyre age and road safety.

“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.”

The announcement follows a campaign led by Frances Molloy, whose 18-year-old son Michael was among three people killed in a coach crash in 2012. The collision was caused by the failure of a 19-year-old tyre on the front-axle of the coach.

In November 2018, DVSA guidance on maintaining roadworthiness was updated to say that tyres of 10 years of age or older should not be used on the front-axles of HGVs, as well as buses and coaches.

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