I have just seen a report on NorthWest Tonight regarding the coroners hearing into a fatal coach crash on (I think) the A3 last summer. The coroner has blamed a 20 year old tyre on the coach which , despite being legal and having plenty of tread, blew out, causing the coach to crash into a tree.
Is it normal for coaches (or indeed other commercial vehicles) to use such elderly rubber? I would have though UV degradation would meant the tyre would need replacing after 10 years at the outside, probably sooner
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If they are faulty they should fail the equivalent of the coach MOT.
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>>I have just seen a report on NorthWest Tonight
www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-23334095
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I've seen far older tyres in use... but the story still surprises me. Most coaches do a huge mileage and although I've got no idea how long a coach tyre wears for, would have thought it would have been worn out long ago.
Indeed, from the rear view photo on the news site, I wonder how old the coach is? Looks like there is a chance the tyre is older than the coach.
Probably no need for knee jerk legislation - something odd was occurring.
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I wonder if they are like aircraft tyres that can be remolded 4 or 5 times in their life?
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>> I wonder if they are like aircraft tyres that can be remolded 4 or 5
>> times in their life?
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I believe that lorry tyres can be retreaded but not how often, are they the same as or interchangeable with bus tyres?
Last edited by: Old Navy on Wed 17 Jul 13 at 09:13
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>> I believe that lorry tyres can be retreaded but not how often, are they the
>> same as or interchangeable with bus tyres?
>>
Continental's website says that they sell the same tyres for truck and coach use (in fact the coach section refers you to the truck section for technical detail). These are regroovable and presumably get remoulded too like truck ones do.
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Looks like there is a chance the tyre is older than the coach.
Quite possible, I'd imagine, if the operator was a low-budget outfit and the tyres came from a new-old stock supplier - there must be such things in the tyre market. Adequately safe, too, if the tyres are stored properly.
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Ironically, one of the non aged tyres was legally defective.
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Extract from Continental website.....
Continental Bus and Coach Tyres are well worth the investment. Designed for
first class economy our tyres are built on a great platform: the excellent
durability of our casings. That is why the ContiLifeCycle goes beyond one tyre
life. Even if the tread is worn down, our Bus and Coach Tyres are far from being
worn out, they can be retreaded with practically no loss of quality.
Our tyres get a second lease of life, and their economic efficiency is optimised –
all without forfeiting any of the product’s quality or safety. Our ContiRe retread
has practically the same product characteristics as our new tyre. A ContiRe
looks just like a new tyre, lasts as long as a new tyre and gives you the same
safe, comfortable ride.
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In my "farming" days tyres could be very expensive so it was tempting to buy stuff from the old codgers locally who would offer tyres that had been in their shed for the last 25yrs. Often near mint tread and looking perfect but a couple of weeks on the road/field under load would have them splitting and falling apart before your eyes.
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I read some where that the coach was two years newer than the tyre, which would make the coach 18 years old! As the coach is probably low value, it might not have been used much and was kept as a sort of spare, or maybe all their coaches were that old.
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PSV Tyres - Zero
