CHEAP TYRES FAILURE
aAre road users being put at risk by cheap and mislabelled foreign-made tyres? Labels are supposed to detail a new tyre’s performance in three areas – stopping ability in the wet, road noise and fuel efficiency.
I told in July how the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency could not say if it had carried out any tests to see if the claims on the labels were accurate.
Unite The Union warned at the time that potentially mislabelled tyres, mainly from Asian manufacturers, were placing motorists’ lives in danger.
Now it turns out that the DVSA inspected four retailers and found “varying degrees” of incorrect labelling.
The DVSA says it is working with the trade to raise awareness of the label regulations and is “looking at ways of increasing compliance and helping consumers make informed choices”. The revelation followed a Freedom of Information request by Unite. “This is a startling admission,” said national officer for the rubber industry, Tony Devlin. “The DVSA has barely stuck its toe in the water and has already unearthed widespread non-compliance. “Awareness-raising activities are all very well but if a company is deliberately ignoring the regulations and mislabelling tyres then there needs to be proper enforcement and prosecutions, because drivers’ lives are being placed in danger.”