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TYRE SAFETY Regulations are soon to be placed before Parliament which, If approved, will make it an offence from January 1, 1985 to supply a newly retreaded tyre unless it has been manufactured and marked in accordance with British Standard Au 144b of 1977.
Lord Lucas of Chilworth, transport spokesman in the House of Lords, made this point when he addressed the annual general meeting of the Retread Manufacturers Association in London last week.
While he acknowledged that RMA members already build to this standard, he believed that the benefit of this new regulation would be to stop the sale of sub-standard retreaded tyres.
He reminded the RMA that BSAu 144b of 1977 merely lays down minimum requirements. It does not, for instance, include a performance test on the tyres, although such a requirement can be agreed and written into the standard in due course.
Applauding the RMA for its work in the field of high speed testing, Lord Lucas said that if it hopes to win over those members of the public who still have doubts about using re-treads, there will require to be the extra safeguards of high speed proving tests.
Moreover this should be accepted by RMA members as the normal testing procedure for its tyres. "Tyres can fail for many reasons", Lord Lucas said "but, if they are retreads, people will look no further for a cause."
Ii retreads had to meet performance tests similar to those contained in the Economic Commission for Europe (ECE) regulation 30 which will apply to new "first-life" car tyres from 1 Jan
uary 1985, or to the new ECE regulation 54 for commercial vehicles, the public would have clearer evidence to support claims that a retread is as good as a "first-life" tyre.
Many retread manufacturers have in the past written to Transport Ministers, either through their Members of Parliament or direct, to seek government help to encourage the use of retreads.
Some MA members have suggested that vehicles operated by individual government departments and other public sector organisations should be fitted with retreads.
In answer to this, Lord Lucas emphasised that these departments, local authorities and nationalised industries, are responsible for and make their own decisions on matters of fleet operation.
"All sectors of the tyre industry, not just retreaders, are free to compete for orders in the public sector. This ensures the best possible deal for the tax payers."
"I am confident", he said "that the retread industry has a secure future in road transport if standards continue to rise." But he warned that if retread manufacturers turned their backs on improvements, then reputations and sales will suffer.