By Eng. Daniel.S.

Cherono

DRIVING ON EXPIRED TYRES

How safe are your tyres? On Thursday 24th October 2013 at about 1500hrs, a passenger service vehicle bound for Bomet County, carrying 9 passengers was involved in a horrific collision with a Nairobi bound bus at a few kilometeres from Ntulele township along the Mai Mahiu Narok National Trunk Road (B3) claiming the lives of all the nine passengers on board. Two months ealier, on the dark night of 29th August 2013, about 200 meters from that spot a bus destined for Homabay County overturned and plunged into a 60ft ravine, killing 41 passengers and maiming a dozen others. As the country mourned, several theories were put across to explain the cause of the accidents.

However, a keen observation of the wreckage of both vehicles pointed out to the front left tyre failure or what is commonly referred to tyre burst as the likely cause that precipitated the chain of events that led to the deadly accidents. But what caused the tyres to fail? Could the accidents have been avoided? Tyres are engineered to withstand high forces and tough conditions. Studies of tyre safety however show that maintaining proper tyre pressure, observing tyre and vehicle load limits, and inspecting tyres for cuts, slashes, and other irregularities are the most important things you can do to avoid tyre failure, such as tread separation or blowout and flat tyres. These actions, along with other care and maintenance activities, improve vehicle handling help

protect you and others from avoidable breakdowns and accidents, improve fuel economy and increase the life of your tyres. Many drivers do not pay attention to their tyres. Every tyre has important information which all drivers must know. These are temperature resistance, traction; tread wear, Maximum Load Capacity, speed symbol and the date of manufacture as shown below.

The information is explained in detail as follows;

Temperature Resistance

These letters indicates a tyres resistance to heat. From highest to lowest, a tyres resistance to heat is graded as "A" for hot area, "B" for Normal weather area, or "C" for Cold area.

Treadware Number

This number indicates the tyre's wear rate. The higher the treadwear number is, the longer it should take for the tread to wear down. For example, a tyre graded 400 should last twice as long as a tyre graded 200

Traction This letter indicates a tyre's ability to stop on wet pavement. A higher graded tyre should allow you to stop your car on wet roads in a shorter distance than a tyre with a lower grade. Traction is graded from highest to lowest as "AA","A", "B", and "C

Maximum Load Capacity & Tyre Speed Symbol Number indicates the maximum load that can be carried by the tyre. Symbol indicates the max. Speed at which a tyre is designed to be driven for extended periods of time

Manufacturing Date

Tyre Expiry Vehicle tyres have a 4-year validity period from their Date of Manufacture (DOM). Thereafter, the tyre expires and may burst whilst in use. How do you find out whether your tyre has expired? Check for a stamp like this: (*2603*) There is an asterisk at the beginning and at the end of this serial number. The first two numbers 2 6 will tell you which week of the year the tyre was manufactured. Note that one year has 52 weeks. The last two numbers represent the year of make. *2610* therefore, shows that the said tyre was manufactured on the 26th week of the year 2010. *2612* shows that the tyre was made on the 26th week of 2012. Check all your tyres for safety purposes. Do not use expired tyres. They are likely to burst (especially when running in hot weather) because the rubber component may have hardened and cracked. Whereas the treads on your tyres may look okay, driving on expired tyres exposes you to grave danger as they are susceptible to failure.

If your tyre does not contain all the above information, as it has been observed on some imports from Far East countries sold cheaply in back streets tyre shops in our cities, then such tyres are counterfeit. Do not buy them.

During regular traffic checks on highways and inspection of motor vehicles, the police and/or the inspectors do not check whether drivers are using expired tyres, yet this is the most likely cause of the numerous tyre failures experienced on our roads every day. The importation of used vehicles with expired tyres use of re-treaded tyres has also worsened the situation. In the case of the Ntulele accidents that claimed over 50 lives and caused injuries to a dozen others, investigations are likely to indicate that overloading, speeding and use of expired tyres resulted in tyre failure that caused the ill-fated bus to overturn and the PSV van to lose direction and collide head-on with the Nairobi bound bus. In conclusion, drivers must understand the information on their tyres and maintain their condition. This is achieved by properly rotating the tyres, inflating them with the right pressure, and constantly evaluating them for wear or damage. The traffic enforcement officers and motor vehicle inspectors should ensure that tyres on all vehicles are safe. Now that you are more informed on tyre safety, always remember to check and take care of your tyres and that expired tyres must not be used.

Eng. Daniel S. Cherono, R.Eng, MIEK works at the Kenya National Highways Authority and comments on engineering matters. sacho77@yahoo.com Twitter: @dcsacho