Northern Ireland consulting on the 10-year-old truck tyre ban

The Department for Transport (DfT) banned truck tyres over 10 years old with effect from 1 February 2021. Now, in Northern Ireland, the Department for Infrastructure (DfI) are “seeking views on proposals with a view to introducing similar legislation in the North of Ireland”. Specifically, DfI are inviting relevant stakeholders and the public to respond to this consultation. The scope of the consultation covers “heavy goods vehicles, buses, coaches and minibuses”. And the consultation is aimed at owners and operators of those vehicles as well as those involved in the “manufacture, provision and/or maintenance of tyres for these vehicle types”.

Specifically, the proposal seeks to amend the existing Motor Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1999 (No 454) and proposes the use of the current, associated enforcement regimes as “the most effective method to implement this change for HGVs buses, coaches and minibuses”.

Subject to the outcome of the consultation, the change will make it an offence to use or operate a vehicle listed above on a road in Northern Ireland where a tyre fitted to the vehicle exceeds an age of 10 years or where a re-treaded tyre exceeds 10 years from its date of re-treading as specified on the tyre wall.

The proposals include measures requiring the date of manufacture marking to be visible for the purposes of inspection, and to be maintained and not tampered with.

The eight-week consultation period began on 24 October 2022 and ends on 18 December 2022. Responses can be made via the following link: https://www.infrastructure-ni.gov.uk/consultations/consultation-ban-tyres-10-years-or-older-heavy-goods-vehicles-buses-coaches-and-minibuses

Tyres & Accessories understands that NTDA has already responded to the consultation on behalf of members there, which include:

A One Tyres (Dromore) Ltd, Alphabella Tyres Ltd, Carryduff Tyre Centre Ltd, Charles Hurst, Enniskillen Tyre Centre, Magowan Tyres (NI) Ltd, Murray Tyre Ltd, Philip White Tyres Ltd, W H Nutt & Son/WHN Tyres, WW Tyres and Wells Tyre.