Tag: Legislation
Michelin: Wet grip testing at 1.6mm will provide greater transparency
The debate over how much tread depth is sufficient and recommendable has been going on for years. While some tyre makers and motoring groups support changing the legal minimum tread depth to 3mm as a move towards greater peace of mind, Michelin has been a vocal advocate of not only keeping 1.6mm the legal minimum but of actually using tyres right down to this tread depth. It is also one of a growing number of parties calling for legislation that informs consumers how tyres perform when worn. Earlier this month, Michelin shared the latest developments in the quest for ‘Long Lasting Performance’.
DfT transport strategy points to green, electric and connected future
The government has published its future transport strategy. After highlighting mobility trends towards increased take-up of electric vehicles, increased amounts of vehicle connectivity and increased ecological consciousness, the strategy focuses on four “next steps”: Implementing a flexible regulatory framework, Supporting industry and local leaders, Ensuring government decision-making is robust; and continuing established technology-specific plans. In other words its about electric mobility, data connectivity and better environmental performance.
Updated EU tyre label to include snow and ice grip information
On 4 March 2019 the European Union adopted its negotiating position on the introduction of the next phase of its European Tyre Labelling legislation. In short, the EU is updating its rules in order to add information on snow and ice grip and raise the prominence of labels for consumers. At the same time there are plans to broaden the scope of tyre labelling to include wear/mileage performance once suitable testing methods have been found.
Government consulting on 10-year-old tyre ban
Following strenuous campaigning from the industry, Tyred and Frances Molloy in particular, the government announced on 26 February that it will consult on “options to ban older tyres from use on buses, coaches, heavy goods vehicles and mini-buses to help keep road users safe”. The Department for Transport explained that the proposed legislation will make it illegal for these vehicles to run with a tyre aged 10 years or over.
MOT test demand set to spike in 2019
The combination of increasing demand for MOTs and stricter test criteria look likely to create a boom in demand at garages and for tyres in particular. After years of post-financial crisis scrappage schemes and investment, the UK car industry got used to boom times and consecutive year-on-year growth.
Hard Brexit will affect UK driving licences in EU
If the UK plans to leave the European Union without a deal covering driving licences, UK licence holders living in the EU or EEA will have to exchange their UK driving licence for a local EU driving licence before 29 March 2019. If they don’t, after that point they may have to pass a driving test in the EU country they live in in order to be able to carry on driving there.
Sensorisation: About more than just tyre pressure
This section is entitled “TPMS and sensor technology” for a reason. No longer are in-tyre sensors about measuring temperature alone. Now TPMS basically means pressure and temperature, often with the addition of algorithmically generated road feedback, load information and even wear calculations. These “big data” contributions are routinely relayed to the cloud for analysis. At the same time external tread readers are measuring similarly important data and sending that to the cloud. Put all this together and we have what Pirelli calls this the “sensorisation” of the tyre business. Whatever we call it, this part of the business now about far more than just sensing tyre pressures. As far as uptake is concerned, legislation and technical innovation are the key driving forces.
ETRMA: Science & evidence-based choices essential to achieve legislative targets
The subject of tyre and road wear particles (TRWP) was also broached at the European Tyre and Rubber Manufacturers’ Association’s (ETRMA) Board of Directors meeting. The Board stressed the importance of political debate – both on this issue and about the wider topic of sustainable mobility – adopting a strong scientific approach, based on facts and solid knowledge. Franco Annunziato, president of the ETRMA, called attention to the “value of having law-making, guided by robust science and based on evidences, as the only way to achieve the legislators’ targets.”
New vehicle emissions testing facility RDE ready
A facility to test new vehicles for emissions has opened in the UK as car manufacturers battle a bottleneck in updating line-ups to the latest protocols. The facility in Northampton, built by Mahle Powertrain, is unique in the UK, and is claimed to be the world’s first dedicated Real Driving Emissions test centre.
Weird driving laws from around the world
We’ve all heard of humourous laws, relics of bygone days – the fact that it is illegal for MPs to wear armour in parliament and for anyone to handle a salmon in suspicious circumstances immediately spring to mind. But did you know that there are a fair few bizarre motoring laws in different countries around the world?
UK opts to keep 3-year first MOT period
A year after the UK government began a consultation period on the question of whether or not to extend the period of the first MOT for cars and motorcycles from three years to four years, Jesse Norman MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Roads, Local Transport and Devolution has announced that the government is keeping the three-year first MOT policy we currently have:
Over 2000 people sign NTDA part-worn ban petition
At the start of August the National Tyre Distributors Association (NTDA) started an online petition calling for a complete ban on the sale of part-worn tyres. The move follows inspections carried out over several years into the sale of part-worn tyres, which show serious safety breaches are common.
The clock is ticking for combustion engines and conventional tyres
The UK government has decided to ban the sale of both new petrol and new diesel cars from 2040. The goal isn’t as ambitious as Norway’s, which aims to do the same by 2025. India thinks it can do it by 2031. And France is on par with the UK, also aiming to ban sales of new combustion engine-based cars by 2040. However, in the UK at least, electric cars sales currently represent less than 1 per cent of new registrations. Therefore a lot has to happen between now and 2040 for this new rule to become reality. What is clear is that there is now real legislative momentum in favour of electric vehicles in the UK and that this will have an inevitable impact on OE suppliers, and in turn the UK replacement tyre market, especially in three key areas: weight, torque and rolling resistance.
Emissions inspections push Chinese tyremakers to the brink
With a headline like that, you could be forgiven for thinking that this month’s column refers to the ongoing geopolitical sabre rattling taking place between China’s North Korean neighbours and the USA. However, as important as the hint of nuclear escalation is, here we focus on how the overheating Chinese tyre market is as close as it has ever been to boiling over. Two key subjects have raised the temperature in the People’s Republic during the last month or so: The European Commission’s (EC) decision to initiate an anti-dumping investigation against Chinese-produced truck and bus tyres; and the even more imminent effects of local environmental emissions investigations within China itself, which have led to the suspension and even closure of numerous businesses in the country (see below).
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