After
a fatal accident, FBHVC says check your tyres! - 23 May
And by that, it doesn't just
mean checking the tyre pressures and making sure there is enough
tread, but making sure the side walls are in good condition and
the tyres not unduly old.
Her Majesty's Coroner for Manchester has written to FBHVC with
details of an accident that took place last year in which the
driver of an H registered MG B lost his life when a rear tyre
burst on the M56. Evidence shows that the driver was a skilled
mechanic and a careful and experienced driver who was not
travelling particularly fast at the time. The car was described by
police as being maintained in an excellent condition. The
surviving passenger said that just before the accident the driver
had commented that a "tyre wobble" had developed and he
was going to "drive through it". The wobble went
briefly, but then the tyre burst, causing the car to spin, clip a
kerb and flip over.
Subsequent investigation showed that - although hardly used - the
tyre was 25 years old. It was one of a set of as-new tyres and
wheels purchased at an autojumble the previous year for use for
show purposes - at the time of the incident the car was on its way
to a show at Oulton Park.
FBHVC included this note in its Newsletter in December
2003:
The Daily Telegraph recently carried a piece in the 'Honest
John' column suggesting that tyre age was to become a testable
item in the MoT test. We immediately contacted the Vehicle
Standards and Engineering Division at the Department for Transport
and were advised that although most tyres already carry dates of
manufacture in their side-walls, there are no plans to implement
regulations to check such dates at the annual MoT test. DfT would,
of course, change their mind if tyre failure due to age became a
significant cause of accidents.
The British Rubber
Manufacturers Association suggests that if a tyre is six years old
and remains unused it should not be put into service. It also
suggests that in ideal conditions tyres may have a life expectancy
of 10 years. Clearly, if DfT did decide to implement tyre date
testing, there would be considerable implications for owners of
older vehicles and we would certainly be making appropriate
representations.
The moral of the story is not to
wait for the government to impose tyre testing on everyone, but to
make sure your own tyres are in good condition, never use undated
second hand tyres and never try to drive through a "tyre
wobble".
To
reinforce this issue, I have received this email from Werner
Maurer in Switzerland
Dear
Phil,
Once
I bought a Hillman Minx from the first owner. On the car the tyres
looked like new. We drove from Switzerland to England. The first
tyre blew up in Normandy. The second one lost its pressure
in England and only with the help of a liquid under pressure (I
don’t know the name in English, it looks like milk, repairs and
reinflates) we managed to reach the International Hillman Rally,
when the tyre lost its pressure again. Furthermore I must say, the
car behaved on the road like a swimming boat. I believed that this
was normal on this car. The tyres were always very hot. I then
bought five new tyres in England which solved the problem.
Later
on, I read an article in a German old car magazine about old car
tyres. They recommended the following points:
- The car is swimming on the road
-
Observe if there are very fine cracks on the
sidewalls of the tyres.
-
After driving a certain number of miles, test the
temperature of the tyres with your hand. If the tyres are really
hot, this means, that the tyre is old and the inner material of
the tyre and the rubber are no more compact and are rubbing
against each other and therefore letting the tyre getting hot,
which may lead to blowing the tyre and/or the inner tube.
-
Never buy a second hand tyre at an autojumble.
Dear
Phil, I am not sure if my explanation is clear, but you may but
into proper English so that it could be of help to other club
members.
Regards
Werner
Yes
Werner, the lesson is very clear.
(
No , I don't know the correct name in English either, it looks
like milk, repairs and reinflates - sounds fine to me! )
The
only other advice I would add is that everyone should ask how old
a set of tyres is, before purchase, and if they have already been
on the shelf for a number of years, then you should not purchase
them. It is also best to tell the supplier why you are rejecting
them because otherwise he may try to sell them to the next
customer.
Phil
I am aware that there are other cars
and information that could be added to this site to make it more comprehensive, so if you
have material and photographs, please let me know. Please send me, Phil Homer, a
message at: Phil Homer
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