South African Govt. “Not Interested” in Tyre Safety

According to a representative from South Africa’s SA Tyre Recycling Process Company, the nation’s Department of Transport and the South African Bureau of Standards are “not interested” in setting standards to ensure that all second-hand tyres sold are safe. This apparent lack of interest comes despite statistics showing approximately 25 per cent of all road accidents in South Africa are caused by sub-standard tyres.

Speaking at a waste management summit in Cape Town, Etienne Human from the SA Tyre Recycling Process Company made reference to the results a recent survey. These results indicated that 80 per cent of tyres were unfit for further service when removed from a vehicle. However instead of being scrapped many of these tyres were instead re-sold, often at the side of the road, and quickly resumed their working life on South African roads.

“On average, 25 per cent of road accidents in South Africa relate to poor tyres, not only smooth tyres but damage on the sidewall,” stated Dr. Human, adding that his organisation has attempted to generate support for a worn tyre specification, but the South African Bureau of Standards and Department of Transport were “not interested in solving the problem.”

At present these is no accountability for those selling second hand tyres. In instances where a burst tyre is a contributing factor in a collision, the tyres are referred back to their original manufacturer, not to the second-hand dealer who sold them. And the problem of second hand tyres is, according to Dr. Human, further compounded by South Africa’s low tyre recycling rates. In South Africa only about four per cent of used tyres are recycled, a miniscule proportion by international standards. In the US, 19 per cent are used in engineering projects such as soil stabilisation and on breakwaters, 10 per cent are ground up and used to make items like car mats, 9 per cent are to rubbish dumps and 45 per cent were used in “energy recovery”, such as replacing fuels in cement kilns.