Earlier this year, the government announced that tyres aged 10 years and older will be banned on the front axles of lorries, buses and coaches.
DVSA already checks for tyres aged 10 years and older during roadside enforcement stops. This change in the law will allow for the issue prohibitions if these tyres are found at annual test and enforcement checks.
What is changing?
The Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) (Amendment) Regulations 2020 will come into force on 1 February 2021 and from that date it will become illegal to fit tyres aged 10 years or older to:
- the front axle of a goods vehicle with a maximum gross weight exceeding 3,500 kg
- the front axle of a bus or coach - including minibuses
- the rear axle of a minibus with single rear wheels fitted
What this means for these vehicles at annual test
Tyres that are aged 10 years and older will become a failure item at annual test.
If these tyres do not display a date code, they will also fail.
As part of the annual test, Vehicle Standards Assessors (VSAs) will check that each tyre displays a date of manufacture or re-treading.
What this means for enforcement checks
Once the rules change, if roadside enforcement teams find a tyre aged 10 years or older fitted to the front axle of a relevant vehicle, they will issue an ‘S’ mark prohibition and conduct a follow up investigation.
What happens next?
Updates will be published to the guide to maintaining roadworthiness, categorisation of defects and MOT inspection manual before the new legislation comes into force.
In the lead up to the ban, VSAs will start to identify tyres aged 10 years or older on HGVs, alongside their existing checks on PSVs.
This information will be shared with vehicle presenters and drivers to help raise awareness of the new rules.
Updates with more information will be provided ahead of the change in the law being introduced.
This new rule will help improve road safety and follows work undertaken by government and the determined efforts of campaigners.
Read the full story in the Department for Transport’s news article.