10 year steer tyre regulation,

[Zero-Five-Two]

Agree with Radiomike7 codes are week and year, always have been.  Biggest problem I've found so far is, tyres are only date coded on one side.  A date code on the inner side of a tyre is hard to see and DVSA Inspectors have been instructed to fail vehicles if a date code is not easily visible. 

They are also giving out advisory notices for rear tyres that are over 10 years, which would suggest to me that they are already planning to expand the current rules at some point.  More expense for us.

[MatchFuzee]

1 hour ago, Zero-Five-Two said:

DVSA Inspectors have been instructed to fail vehicles if a date code is not easily visible. 

Hopefully this is when the date code is not easily visible because the tyre has been curbed rather than the date code being on the inner wall or any twin wheeled vehicles will be impossible to MOT. 

[attleej]

Dear All,

I think that the date code can be on the inside of a front wheel.  It is not a problem during an inspection because the wheel has to be rotated as part of the inspection process.

I don't think that the rule will be made to apply to twin rear wheels. The reasons is this:  It is very unusual to find a ten year old tyre in commercial use.  They simply do not last that long. If the rule was made to apply to twins, it would be necessary to assemble the tyres on the wheels so that the date code is shown.  That would be huge burden to place on commercial operators when they do not use old tyres anyway.  It might not be too difficult to ensure that replacement tyres are put on the 'right' way (although mistakes will be made) but there will be a very large number that are currently assembled the 'wrong' way..  

How are members getting on with DROPS vehicles and what are the costs involved.

John

[radiomike7]

Also don't forget some truck tyres are directional which would cause problems.  

[ruxy]

It seems the spare carried will have to conform to steer   ?    

[Tamber]

On 3/6/2021 at 12:30 PM, radiomike7 said:

Also don't forget some truck tyres are directional which would cause problems.  

It's a royal pain in the arse. I can only hope that tyres made after this came into force will start coming with manufacture dates on both sides. (Though with my luck, there'll be a batch of the bargain-basement ones made that they screw up and put a different date on each side. 😁 )

On 3/6/2021 at 2:29 PM, ruxy said:

It seems the spare carried will have to conform to steer   ?    

I can't see anything in the linked regulations, but I will say it'd be a very good idea to, yes. Otherwise, sod's law will say you get a tug just after you've spent a frustrating time changing the wheel by the side of the road after a blowout, and get a PG9 for having a 20-year-old tyre on the steer axle, because you forgot the spare was that old. 🤦‍♂️

On 3/6/2021 at 9:51 AM, attleej said:

I think that the date code can be on the inside of a front wheel.  It is not a problem during an inspection because the wheel has to be rotated as part of the inspection process.

I don't think that the rule will be made to apply to twin rear wheels. The reasons is this:  It is very unusual to find a ten year old tyre in commercial use.  They simply do not last that long. If the rule was made to apply to twins, it would be necessary to assemble the tyres on the wheels so that the date code is shown.  That would be huge burden to place on commercial operators when they do not use old tyres anyway.  It might not be too difficult to ensure that replacement tyres are put on the 'right' way (although mistakes will be made) but there will be a very large number that are currently assembled the 'wrong' way.. 

Date code is fine on the inside on a front, or on the inner of a rear pair. It's when they're on the faces in the middle of the pair that it's a pain. It's become a frequent occurrence for vehicles we've prepped to come back from test with an advisory for at least *one* of the twins, because of a date code that was between the tyres. As previously said, I can only hope they start getting date-codes put on both sides...

Though, work's recently got a tyre machine, so I'm far less opposed to turning tyres on the rim to make them face the way I want them to, than when I had to swing a sledgehammer & levers for half an hour. 😁

As far as ten year old tyres being unusual in commercial use... I beg to differ. Maybe they don't last that long on trucks that spend all day pounding up and down the motorway on trunking work; but they're a weekly occurrence on inspections at work (Last set I saw was yesterday! Early 2011 date codes on all 4 across the back axle.) And that's, of course, assuming that they've not been dragged out of the back of a warehouse somewhere, nearly a decade old without ever having seen the road. (You might laugh, but it does happen. Even worse for oddball sizes!)

[hummermark]

If a 3.5 ton + is used privately and 40+ years old registered as historic and you test it does the 10 year tyre rule on the stear axle still applie ?

[Zero-Five-Two]

Couple of points on your post Tamber.  I have been told that there is little or no chance of tyre manufacturers putting the date code on both sides, as it will cost them a fair bit to do and  only the UK has a requirement use it.  Because  we are only small beer compared the world market it is not worth the expense.

As for getting advice on your rear tyres at MOT test, a friendly tester tells me they (the Testers) are data collecting.  If enough testers keep advising that they cannot see the date between the twin wheels, it will get taken out of the manual and they will just need to check front tyres.  Don't know how true that one is, but my man is usually good with his info.

Beware Chinese manufactured tyres.  Some of them have the date code in Chinese characters, which is no use to an English tester and he will tug you for it.

[Motleyholt]

EDIT: There are a few errors in this post, see following posts for the right info.

The ten year tyre rule currently only applies to the front wheels, the reason is if a back tyre blows it is very unlikely for the vehicle to lose control especially as there is another tyre with it. Unless the vehicle is registered as a PSV in which case all tyres must be less than ten years old, higher speed limit and passengers. I've had lots replaced on horse boxes and low use trucks. The testers have said there is a 40 year old exemption but were unsure if it needs to be registered as a historic vehicle as well. And exempt vehicles cannot be used to carry anything. So if you claim exemption and get pulled over fully loaded you will get a prohibition as fa as i'm aware. I need to update my HGV testing manual and ammendments so when I do I'll look up the section and post it. 

The steel wires (cords) that make up the structure of a commercial tyre degrade due to age and fatigue, also where a tyre gets cut by stones etc the cords are exposed and will corrode. Eventually they fail, the tyre deforms and then bursts. It has to be said that some modern tyres seem to degrade very quickly and some 40+ year old tyres look fine. Possibly the ingredients used has changed? Unless you happen to have a tyre testing machine you would never know. 

Ultimately I will find out when my Foden goes for test! Its 42 years old so will the perfect candidate. 

This is my 40 year old spare.

Edited April 10, 2021 by Motleyholt
Info inaccurate

[attleej]

I am afraid that Martin is wrong.  You can use an exempt vehicle fully loaded.

John

[hummermark]

1 hour ago, attleej said:

I am afraid that Martin is wrong.  You can use an exempt vehicle fully loaded.

John

I thought this as the wording is referenced, goods ,commercial use.

its the term goods that leads to interpretation.

is a item carried termed as goods only if you are getting a reward for carrying it.

does the item not become goods if it's carried for your own use?

Edited April 9, 2021 by hummermark
For sentence to read correct

[Motleyholt]

My apologies the wording is not used commercially for the carriage of goods. My bad.

It has to be said the testing manual is very vague on the subject with no mention of exemptions and the requirement for psv's. I have a test for a civy truck test on Tuesday so will see if I can get a definitive article in writing from the tester.

 

[Motleyholt]

This link is a bit more straight foward to understand.

https://movingon.blog.gov.uk/2020/12/09/ban-on-tyres-over-10-years-old-for-heavy-vehicles-and-some-minibuses/

It appears they dropped the 10 year rule on psv's unless they are single wheel at the rear. I suppose, as zero five two said, they couldn't read the date between the tyres.

"Using old tyres on historic vehicles 

The new regulations exempt non-commercial vehicles aged 40 years and older from these requirements.

However, you should get all tyres of all ages regularly inspected by a competent person. This should be part of your tyre management and vehicle maintenance system.

Even if an older tyre appears safe, you need to assess and manage any risks associated with its use. A short journey at a low speed when the vehicle is lightly loaded, poses different risks to those involving long journeys, high-speed journeys, or use while the vehicle is laden."

Does look like they have left it open for the authorities to take action if circumstances require, ie old, cracked and loaded or a combination of those. But I suppose that applies to all vehicles.

[hummermark]

1 hour ago, Motleyholt said:

This link is a bit more straight foward to understand.

https://movingon.blog.gov.uk/2020/12/09/ban-on-tyres-over-10-years-old-for-heavy-vehicles-and-some-minibuses/

It appears they dropped the 10 year rule on psv's unless they are single wheel at the rear. I suppose, as zero five two said, they couldn't read the date between the tyres.

"Using old tyres on historic vehicles 

The new regulations exempt non-commercial vehicles aged 40 years and older from these requirements.

However, you should get all tyres of all ages regularly inspected by a competent person. This should be part of your tyre management and vehicle maintenance system.

Even if an older tyre appears safe, you need to assess and manage any risks associated with its use. A short journey at a low speed when the vehicle is lightly loaded, poses different risks to those involving long journeys, high-speed journeys, or use while the vehicle is laden."

Does look like they have left it open for the authorities to take action if circumstances require, ie old, cracked and loaded or a combination of those. But I suppose that applies to all vehicles.

Hi it would be nice if the current post February 2021 vosa mot testing manual backed up the over 40 year exemption of the tyre rule .

it would make it more black and white for road side checks and when you have to test your 40 year and older hobby vehicle.