TYRE SAFETY
Nick Gregg, group managing director at ATS Euromaster, has been appointed to join the Tyre Industry Council later this year, strengthening the retail representation on the Council.
The TIC claims that its tyre safety work is expanding, particularly in the area of tyre safety clinics and roadside tyre checks, and so welcomes the support from retailers as well as tyre manufacturers.
Beru Aktiengesellschaft (Ludwigsburg, Germany) increased its total revenues in the first quarter of the 2004/05 financial year (1 April – 30 June, 2004) by 23.2% to €85.5 million (1 April – 30 June, 2003: €69.4 million). A high level of growth in the company’s youngest division, Electronics and Sensor Technology, made a decisive contribution (12.5% organic growth) to earnings achieved by the group, but not the tyre pressure monitoring system. Net income rose by 20.3% to €7.7 million after €6.4 million in the same period of last year. As a result, earnings per share reached €0.77 after €0.64 in the prior-year quarter.
In the UK, the Tyre Industry Council plans a series of radio advertisements to support the growing number of regional tyre safety campaigns. The 30-second safety messages are the result of a commitment by members of the British Rubber Manufacturers Association to contribute financially towards the radio campaigns, which will go on air in the north-east and north-west of England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The major TIC Associates in these areas have agreed to match the financial contribution. The first adverts can be heard this month in support of the north-east Tyre Safety Campaign.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has revealed details of the new tests that tyres for passenger cars and light trucks will have to undergo by 2007. The program includes speed and endurance tests, plus a test with the tyre under-inflated. The NHTSA reckons that most tyres will reach the new standards, with something between five and eleven per cent of tyres having to be re-designed. These are the first new standards since 1967 and were prompted by the Firestone recall. The NHTSA estimates that the cost to manufacturers will be $31.6 million.
A US federal grand jury is conducting a criminal investigation related to Bridgestone tyres that were linked to deaths and injuries involving Ford Explorers, according to a subpoena issued to lawyers suing the companies. The subpoena, by the United States attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, requests that lawyers suing the Bridgestone Corporation and the Ford Motor Company in tyre-related cases turn over documents to the grand jury. Among the requested documents are sworn statements by John T. Lampe, chief executive of Bridgestone Americas Holding Inc. The investigation follows accusations by Congressional investigators that Bridgestone and Ford misled federal officials about the safety of their products. The subpoena does not identify the focus of the criminal investigation, simply that the documents being sought are pursuant to an official criminal investigation of a suspected federal offense. Safety officials say flaws in Firestone tyres contributed to 271 deaths and more than 700 injuries. After a recall of Firestone tyres began in 2000, President Bill Clinton signed a law that made it a crime to withhold tyre safety data.
The annual Scottish tyre safety week will be held between 18th – 22nd November. Motorists are being offered free tyre checks at leading supermarket sites prior to the campaign. Scottish tyre safety week is organised by the Tyre Industry Council and supported by the police, tyre manufacturers and the tyre trade. Over ten years, the campaign has been instrumental in reducing the percentage of illegal tyres in Scotland from 18 to 10 per cent.
Following the Firestone recall, the US Government ordered a thorough overhaul of tyre safety standards. One of these is a new drum-test, which requires tyres to be tested for longer periods and at higher speeds. The Rubber Manufacturers Association has described the new tests as “extreme” and estimated that almost half of today’s car and light truck tyres would not pass the new test.
The annual tyre safety campaign in Scotland moved from October to December last year. A four day clinic programme held in supermarket car parks revealed that 20% of motorists had tyres with tread below 1.6mm. The clinic programme was followed by a week of police enforcement on the roads, which showed an illegal tyre level of 14.4% – almost exactly matching the UK average of 14%.
In the course of this year’s TyreCheck in Germany during May, 1.3 million cars were checked (previous year 200,000). 4 per cent of tyres had a tread depth below the 1.6 mm minimum, while another 15% had tread depths “near to” 1.6 mm. The TyreCheck, which was also carried out in other European countries, is designed to increase awareness of tyre safety. The German tyre dealers association (BRV, Bundesverband Reifenhandel und Vulkaniseur-Handwerk) described the participation of its members as “disappointing”, but the car testing organisations (TUV, Dekra, GTU) demonstrated a very high level of involvement.
Recent reports questioning the reliability of some of the tyres being used by Ford to replace Firestones are doubtless partly responsible for the car manufacturer’s plans to conduct a series of tests on replacement tyres. Ford’s team of around 100 engineers will carry out a number of tests, including measuring wedge thickness, temperature monitoring and how much force it takes to cause a tread separation. Other checks on the relationships between load/speed/temperature will be carried out in conjunction with tyre manufacturers as well as in-house.
The Rubber Manufacturers Association (RMA) is launching a tyre safety awareness campaign called ‘Be Tire Smart – Play Your PART’ urging consumers to think about Pressure, Alignment, Rotation and Tread. The campaign supported by the American Automobile Association (AAA) comes in the light of a RMA survey which showed that most drivers failed a tyre safety quiz. In the survey only four percent admitted to checking tyre pressures regularly. Only 28 percent knew the regular service interval for rotating tyres. Only 22 percent knew the legal minimum tread depth. In the overall quiz only 23 percent managed to get a grade “C” pass or better.
During the so-called “tyre safety month” organised in Germany for May 2000 motorists are offered a free tyre check. Several associations (DVR, BRV, ADAC, ACE, DEKRA, TÜV etc.) are involved in this initiative as well as ten tyre manufacturers.
Beru AG (Ludwigsburg/Germany) has announced growing demand for its tyre pressure control system. As well as the BMW 3, 5 and 7 series, Mercedes S- and AMG E-class and SLK and Audi A8, the tyre safety device is now also available as an option for Mercedes CL Coupe and Audi allroad Quattro, and from autumn for the BMW X5.
The current Firestone recall has led to many in the USA calling for tougher standards in tyre testing. It has been revealed that, following the Firestone recall in 1978, new regulations were drawn up, incorporating more stringent safety criteria. However, the suggested changes were scrapped when Ronald Reagan became President as it was considered that their implementation would adversely affect the car manufacturing industry.
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