Carrickfergus Borough Council - It's Tyre Safety Week from 15 to 21 October 2012

Tread carefully!

11 October 2012

'Part worn' tyres are those which have been used previously and are therefore considered to be 'second-hand'. Most part worn tyres are imported, mainly coming from continental Europe.

Part worn tyres and the law

By law, it is illegal to supply a part worn tyre that is capable of being fitted to a motor vehicle or trailer, unless certain conditions are met. These conditions include regulations on the tyre’s markings and the general condition of the tyre.

 Markings

Part worn tyres must:

•  have an approval mark (for example E4) and show all the original marks that were moulded onto, or into the sidewall of the tyre at the time of manufacture, including  the speed category symbol and load capacity index, and
• feature the words PART WORN in upper case letters at least four millimeters high. This wording must be permanently and legibly applied to the tyre beside the approval mark. This must not be applied by hot branding or by cutting into the tyre.

Condition

• Part worn tyres must not show any of the following defects when inflated to their highest operating pressure:
• cuts over 25mm or 10% of the section width of the tyre (whichever is the greater) on the outside of the tyre, deep enough to reach the ply or cord,
• internal or external lumps, bulges or tears caused by separation or partial failure of its structure,
• a ply or cord exposed internally or externally, or
• penetration damage that has not been repaired.

The grooves of the original tread pattern of the part worn tyre must be at least 2mm deep across the full breadth of tread and around the entire outer circumference of the tyre.

What are the potential problems with part worn tyres?
Part worn tyres which comply with the legal requirements above and have been fitted by a competent tyre fitter are perfectly safe.

However, if you use part worn tyres, it is important you are aware of the serious safety risk to you, your passengers and other road users if they are unsafe.

Part worn tyres may be unsafe due to previous poor repairs, penetration damage, being run over or under inflated, or after an impact such as hitting a kerb. All of these could cause irreparable and invisible damage to the structure of the tyre, compromising its safety. Unsafe tyres increase the risk of tyre related accidents.

For further information please contact:

Environmental Health Section
Telephone: 028 9335 8000
E-Mail: sec2.envhealth@carrickfergus.org