7 June 2012

'Get a Grip on Dodgy Tyres' - Trading Standards urged

Tyre safety firms have called on Trading Standards to take note following a damning investigation regarding part-worn tyres.

Tyre safety firms have called on the Trading Standards to take note following a damning investigation which revealed that part-worn tyres are being sold illegally.

Motoring consumer groups are calling for more enforcement and tighter regulations on the sale of part-worn tyres.

A new study has revealed that 98% of part-worn tyres were sold illegally. The nationwide, month-long investigation by TyreSafe and Autotrader found that a worrying number of tyres are being sold that don't meet the legal requirements.

More than a third of the part-worn tyres sold were found to have potentially dangerous signs of damage or non-compliance.

Stuart Jackson, chairman of TyreSafe said: "Despite clear legislation it would appear from our investigation that the sale of illegal part-worn tyres is a very real problem and needs to be tackled head on by Trading Standards as a matter of urgency.

"Those who sell illegal part-worn tyres need to be educated and stopped as it really could be a matter of life and death.”

One of the tyres which was randomly selected as part of the investigation had the ‘potential to kill' as it featured a metal object penetrating 5cm through the tyre thread. This could have resulted in sudden and total tyre failure had it been fitted to the vehicle.

Whilst more action is being called for in the UK to prevent the sale of faulty tyres, if you are overseas, this issue could be out of your hands.

Those hiring a car could find that their tyres are damaged in such a way that could cause an accident. The legal requirements for safe tyres differs in each country, however, it could be worth taking out car hire excess insurance in case you find that the vehicle fails on your trip.