More than 30 people were killed or seriously injured in motorway accidents in 2016 due to illegal or faulty tyres. However, the results of the study suggest that commuters, commercial drivers and other road users can do a lot more to help reduce accidents by maintaining a regime of regular tyre checking.
From a personal viewpoint, while driving in twilight on the City of Lincoln bypass, I encountered the discarded remains of a large truck tyre. With a Transit van inspecting my rear bumper and another car overtaking, my avoidance manoeuvre skimmed the edge of the detritus (shoving it clear) but caused £200 damage to the front bumper of my (then) two days old car.
It would have been a lot worse, had I struck the debris head-on, with the prospect of involving at least two other vehicles in ‘my’ accident! While extremely disappointed, the resultant issue was deciding whether to make an insurance claim, which would involve payment of the £100 excess and risk bumping-up the insurance premium, or paying the body shop fee. I opted for the latter.
According to Richard Leonard, Highways England’s head of road safety: “England’s motorways are the safest in the world but we’re determined to reduce the number of people killed and seriously injured on them. This recent and important research confirms our view that road users ought to play a bigger role and get into the habit of checking tyre pressures and tread depths and looking out for nails and other debris stuck in tyres before setting out on journeys. These simple checks could save lives.”
The research reveals that almost three quarters of tyre failure samples analysed by Bridgestone involved poor inflation, or debris penetration issues – problems that could be avoided with better tyre husbandry. Both Bridgestone and Highways England, the government quango that operates, maintains and improves the nation’s motorways and major A-roads, are partners in the multi-agency road safety charity Tyresafe. They combined forces to carry out the important research over 18 months between the beginning of 2016 and last summer.
During the project, staff working for Highways England, at depots across the West Midlands, provided more than 1,000 pieces of tyre debris from motorways to a technical engineering team from Bridgestone for analysis. The findings from 1,035 tyre segments retrieved from the M1, M6, M40, M5 and M42 revealed:
• 56% of tyres failed due to road debris penetration
• 18% failed due to poor inflation
• 8% failed due to poor vehicle maintenance
• 1% of tyres failed due to manufacturing defects
• 1% of tyres failed due to excessive heat
• 16% of the tyre samples could not be allied to one specific problem.
The tyre debris was taken from cars, vans, commercial vehicles and motorbikes, with under-inflation of tyres a key theme, along with poor vehicle maintenance, both of which accounted for 26% of the entire sample. When it is considered that 32 people were killed or seriously injured in motorway road traffic accidents in 2016, due to ‘illegal, defective, or underinflated tyres’, Bridgestone and Highways England state categorically that simple tyre checks can save lives.
Interestingly, the cost to the economy from a two-hour delay on a busy stretch of motorway, following a two-lane closure, stands presently at £135,360 and a massive £1,488,960 for a three-lane closure lasting up to four hours. Some of the samples were particularly alarming, with a temporary ‘space-saver’ spare tyre being run to destruction, while a number of potentially lethal and illegal ‘string’ repairs were also found on car tyres, which are completely unsuitable at any speed, let alone at 70mph on motorways.
Bridgestone technical manager, Gary Powell, who oversaw the analysis of the debris with field engineer, Peter Moulding and the rest of the firm’s technical department, stated: “This report has taken a great deal of time and effort to compile, involving a painstaking process of collecting the debris and analysing it in depth thereafter. We concluded that some simple tyre checks can save lives, not to mention reducing the risk of a stressful breakdown on a motorway.
“With proper vehicle inspection and maintenance programs, many of the failure methods noted should be detectable and preventable. In light of these results, we would also advise that tyre pressure monitoring systems (TPMS) are fitted to vehicles that do not benefit from the technology already. It will assist with the detection of penetrations and deflations.”
However, Highways England might also contemplate the relationships it has with various ‘freelance’ contractees that have been tasked with removing debris from our main roads, because they are simply not performing as comprehensive a role as they should be. The authorities ought to assume a healthy slice of the responsibility overall for this growing problem, which is incurring a lot of otherwise avoidable on-costs to motorists and motorcyclists. Clashing with a discarded truck tyre can lead to catastrophy.
To see Bridgestone’s tyre debris study brought to life, visit https://youtu.be/-KSt1a1ndgc.
