Roads Minister Mike Penning has announced that classic vehicles will be exempted from the MoT test. According to details released by the Department for Transport on 21 May, vehicles manufactured before 1960 will be exempted from the MoT test from 18 November 2012.
Following research by Motor Wheel Service last month that showed commercial wheels sustaining undetected damage when fitted to non-standard hubs, the Department for Transport has stated that it will undertake independent testing to verify the company’s findings. The initial investigation, carried out on an LBF machine by one of the world’s leading CV wheel experts, Dr Sundararajan of Wheels India, found that non-circumferential hubs, which give only partial contact between axle and wheel, are causing untested load stresses which cause cracks and half life expectancy. MWS, the worldwide distributor of Wheels India’s xlite truck wheels, has campaigned extensively over the past few years for increased safety checks, maintaining that there is also a problem with used take-off wheels entering the market without mandatory safety checks.
With just two months to go before Tyre Labelling starts appear in the market, TIF is offering its advice. The EU tyre labelling Regulation comes into effect for tyre manufacturers from 1 July. From that date retailers can expect to see certain deliveries of tyres arriving with the new “consumer advice” label affixed. The full impact for retail premises is 1 November, when retailers have to pass on this information to consumers. That leaves just 6 months to prepare for the biggest change in tyre retailing for years.
Commercial vehicle wheels operating on non-standard spider and star shaped hubs are sustaining damage that could half their lifespan, according to research by Wythenshawe-based distributor, Motor Wheel Service. The company instigated research into the damage non-circumferential hubs can cause to wheels untested on anything other than circumferential products. John Ellis, managing director of MWS, said: “We do not know how many vehicles are operating on UK roads with spider and star shaped hubs. It is now up to VOSA and the main CV bodies, who I suspect are completely unaware of this problem, to ascertain the scale of the issue and exactly how it should be handled.” Ellis and MWS have long campaigned for the introduction of more stringent safety checks on CV wheels, citing the influx of take-off or second-hand wheels into the UK market; now the use of non-standard hubs has provided them with a second angle to present to the Department for Transport.
Responding to Francis Maude’s ‘jerry can’ recommendation, Kwik Fit shares that motorists may do well to consider other, simple means of saving fuel. According to the fast fit network, British motorists are, for example, wasting almost £1 billion a year on excess fuel through the totally avoidable practice of driving on under-inflated tyres; a Kwik Fit survey of more than 2,700 tyres across the UK showed 69 per cent to be at least 3psi under the manufacturer’s recommendation. So visit your nearest garage and check those tyres.
"The Independent Garage Association (IGA) is disappointed at the Department for Transport’s (DfT) decision not to raise the standard MOT fee this year" said Stuart James, IGA director. The DfT have decided that during 2012 the set price for an MOT will remain at £54.85.
James continued: The majority of MOT test stations are small to medium sized businesses that are currently battling with increasing costs and declining revenue. The increase in cost would allow these already struggling businesses to recoup some of the revenue."
New research, from car insurance company Confused.com, has revealed that Sat Navs have caused over £203m worth of damage to drivers on UK roads, through accidents caused by misleading directions. With the Department for Transport holding its first ever Sat Nav Summit in March, the issue of misleading Sat Navs has become an ever-increasing problem across the nation.
The government is aiming to lead garages to make improvements in customer service in “a package of transparency and value-for-money measures” unveiled today by transport secretary Justine Greening. According to a statement released by the department, an evaluation of existing MOT test standards and frequency took account of the views and evidence offered by a wide range of organisations.
MPs from the Transport select committee today heard of the overwhelming opposition to Government plans to reduce the frequency of MOTs. Bill Duffy, co-ordinator of the Pro-MOTe campaign, supported by a range of motoring organisation, road safety campaigners and industry bodies said scrapping annual testing would be "dangerous, expensive and unwanted".
In a Private Members’ Debate on Tuesday 29 November, Paul Goggins MP continued to raise the issue of commercial vehicle wheel safety with Parliamentary under-secretary of State for Transport Mike Penning, asserting “I am not going away on this issue.” The outcome of the debate was that the MPs will meet again soon, to discuss the outcome of Goggins’ meetings with industry representatives and trade associations. The MP, in conjunction with MWS, is setting up meetings with the Road Haulage Association and the Freight Transport Association; a process that the latest Westminster action will have eased, company representative Matthew Wells told tyrepress.com/Tyres & Accessories.
Motor Wheel Service boss John Ellis is continuing to campaign for safety checks on second hand and take-off wheels entering the UK commercial vehicle market; the company estimates that over 10,000 such wheels enter the UK aftermarket every year, of which it says the large majority are sold by companies who do not possess the technical abilities or examination procedures to ascertain the history and fatigue of a wheel. His local MP Paul Goggins, with whom he has discussed the problem since 2010, will continue the debate with Mike Penning MP, parliamentary under-secretary of State at the Department for Transport, in Westminster Hall on Tuesday 29 November.
Fuel consumption and tyre wear account for a large chunk of most transport operators’ ongoing costs, thus it is crucial to eliminate all unnecessary expense. Incorrectly aligned bus and coach wheels, for example, can have an adverse effect on both tyre wear and fuel consumption. When PSV wheels are aligned properly, these two problems are reduced, less strain is placed upon mechanical components, drivers report reduced fatigue and tyres are less likely to overheat.
Tyresafe chairman Stuart Jackson made an appearance during the opening segment on tyre safety of BBC One’s flagship early-evening magazine programme, The One Show. The five-minute report highlighted the increase in stopping distances when using tyres with insufficient tread depth. One startled motorist, who had been found by the show’s production team to be driving on illegal tyres, was then shown how to check their tyre tread depth using TyreSafe’s 20p test, which was repeated later in the studio. Tyresafe should be congratulated for the positive effect this coverage will undoubtedly have, though Simon Boseman, who presented the item, incorrectly stated that the legal tread depth limit is 3mm rather than 1.6mm, and then administered the 20p test on only the shoulder of the tyre, when two-thirds of the cross-section of the tread must be above the limit.
The Department for Transport (DfT) revealed yesterday that illegal, defective and under-inflated tyres were responsible for more than 1,210 road casualties in Great Britain during 2010. The latest Road Casualties in Great Britain report shows that 18 motorists were killed during the year from defective tyres, bringing the number of tyre related deaths on UK roads in the last five years to 164.
Tyre Safety month begins on Saturday and ATS Euromaster has marked the occasion by reminding motorists that driving with illegal tyres risks a £2,500 fine and three penalty points for each illegal tyre on their vehicle. With the latest Department for Transport report clocking 860 reported accidents on British roads where illegal, defective or under-inflated tyres were a contributory factor – including 17 fatal incidents and 165 serious accidents – safety is also a major part of ATS-E’s message. During Tyre Safety Month, ATS Euromaster is offering free tyre safety inspections at any of its 370 centres throughout England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
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