TyreSafe launches online truck tyre safety advice
Tyre safety organisation TyreSafe is making truck tyre safety information more widely available to commercial vehicle users by adding a truck specific section to its website and producing a truck tyre safety handout. Defective tyres represent a growing number of MoT failures in the HGV sector, with statistics recorded by VOSA showing that an MoT failure rate of 36.5 percent was recorded in 2007/8, with ‘condition of tyres’ ranking as the second most common failure defect. The new TyreSafe web pages contain invaluable tyre safety advice for all members of the commercial vehicle community, including fleet managers, workshop managers, fleet inspectors and drivers and are designed to be informative and easily accessible. “With fleet operators increasingly under pressure to ensure the provision of safe and roadworthy vehicles and VOSA officials now able to issue fixed penalty notices to drivers at the roadside, commercial vehicle users must be more vigilant than ever to ensure that their vehicles’ tyres are legal and correctly maintained,” explains Stuart Jackson, chairman, TyreSafe. “Making tyre maintenance a key priority allows commercial fleet operators to help ensure the safety of their drivers and reduce the number of accidents caused by defective tyres on our roads. TyreSafe’s new truck tyre safety guide provides a useful point of reference for safety information together with a set of practical tips.”
The new web pages can be found at tyresafe.org and include clear and concise information on the importance of tyre pressure, tread depth, wheel alignment, regrooving and tyre disposal, together with details of the common causes of tyre damage and wear and top tips for correct truck tyre maintenance. A free truck tyre safety handout can be downloaded from the site and hard copies are also available.
Poorly maintained tyres can seriously affect the safety of drivers and other motorists involved in a tyre failure incident, and can also lead to increased vehicle downtime, premature tyre wear and higher fuel consumption. Fleet operators have a duty of care to their drivers and must ensure that they are provided with a safe working environment, including the provision of safe and roadworthy vehicles. Since the Health and Safety Offences Act came into force in January 2009, UK courts have greater authority to prosecute businesses for committing offences such as fitting illegal tyres or faulty brakes. The maximum penalty currently stands at £20,000. Drivers are also under greater pressure from VOSA to ensure that their tyres are legal, with perpetrators risking roadside charges of up to £200 per offence.
For further information or to visit the new TyreSafe truck tyre safety web pages, please visit tyresafe.org.
