Used Tyres Cause Crashes, says Dr. Human

The sale of unsafe second-hand tyres has become a major contributor towards road fatalities in South Africa, according to the body representing South Africa’s tyre manufacturers, the South African Tyre Manufacturing Conference (SATMC).

Dr Etienne Human, chief executive of the SATMC said that the millions of worn out used tyres fitted to vehicles around the country are responsible for between 14 and 25 per cent of the nation’s road accidents.

“In South Africa eleven million tyres are scrapped every year” said Dr Human, “and only six per cent are recycled, so most of them are going back onto vehicles.” These used tyres typically have little or no tread and are often sold at the side of the road or in townships. The more serious cases of the resale of worn out tyres involves sticking mutilated tyres back together with superglue.

Dr Human said that South African manufacturers had spent eight years petitioning the government to regulate the collection and recycling of used tyres.