CARS FOR SALE DRIVEN
EXPERTS REACT TO 10-YEAR TYRE PLAN
Last week’s CCW article on a possible ban on ten-year old tyres stirred a great deal of debate among the classic car community.
Government research into the performance of aged commercial vehicle tyres led to speculation that similar restrictions could be applied to their classic car equivalents; in a statement, the Federation of British Historic Vehicle Clubs (FBHVC) wanted to make its position on the issue clearer.
Communications director, Wayne Scott, said: ‘The Federation wishes to clarify that the consultation document was focused solely on historic commercial vehicles, coaches and buses.
‘Therefore, it might have left the impression to some readers that the Federation was not concerned about the use of old and unsafe tyres, especially on historic passenger cars. That is not the case; the Federation absolutely does care about the use of unsafe tyres.’
The FBHVC has confirmed that it has received calls from clubs confused as to the current state of play with older tyres, and that conclusive testing had yet to be
done. It has also acknowledged in its consultation report that there is more to tyre safety than age; it agrees with clubs that careful tyre management is important, as is availability of unusually-sized tyres produced in small batches.
Wayne Scott added: ‘Deterioration of tyres is not just a function of age, but also use and treatment. Just because a tyre is less than ten years old, it does not necessarily mean that it is safer than one that is older.’
‘Furthermore, the tragic [commercial vehicle] incidents cited by the DfT involved tyre wall failure resulting in corrosion of the internal steel bands. Of course, crossply tyres do not have such metal structures within them. We must also recognise that some tyres simply aren’t available for certain vehicles.’
Wayne reiterated that while the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) position on commercial vehicle tyres was to be supported, banning any tyres based on age was a bad move. He said: ‘The Federation strongly supports the DVSA’s recently introduced recommendations and careful monitoring procedure for tyres, backed up by the Traffic Commissioners, to recommend against the use of old tyres on steering axles and to enforce careful tyre management plans for all vehicles.
‘ We are firmly of the view that the DVSA approach will prevent the risk of accidents without needing the heavy-handed approach of an outright ban on all tyres over ten years old.’
Blockley Tyre Company spokesman, Lee Hillsdon, said: ‘A blanket ten-year ban would be an overreaction, as we’d agree that if properly stored – in a garage in the dark – tyres can still be in good condition after ten years. Our compounds can last better even than modern car tyres – you just need to look at the sidewall and you can usually tell.’
Existing EU member states already restrict the age of the tyres where roadworthiness is concerned; responding on Facebook, Irish reader Edward J. Connally explained that advisory or fail notices for NCT (Irish MoT) could be given to tyres aged six years and older.
Fellow classic fan Bruce Strachan felt that cheaper tyres could be an option if a ten-year ban was imposed for whatever reason. He said: ‘If tyre retailers sell a tyre with a five yearold date code will it be half price?’
Vintage Tyres’ Ben Field said: ‘I would like to see some proper like-for-like old versus new, testing on a wide range of tyres. This would include wet and dry braking performance and analysis of sectioned tyres to see how they degrade over time.’
Ben also argued that tyre management would only mitigate the effects of time for so long: ‘Tyres continue to vulcanise/ harden as they age. While careful storage will limit the effects of UV, no storage or ‘maintenance’ can stop hardening, which reduces grip significantly.’
Ben added that the question of tyre availability must be balanced with an overall responsibility towards safety – even if that means that limited batches of unusual tyres don’t get used. He said: ‘ We work very hard indeed to ensure that the correct tyres fit a huge selection of historic vehicles remain available.
‘As with any road vehicle, safety has to be the primary concern.’