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New legislation with the
Waste Tyre Regulation Act is set to govern a cradle to grave
approach to tyres.
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The past three Brake & Tyre Watch initiatives reported on in this and past issues of
FleetWatch show, without doubt, that brakes and tyres are neglected items for preventive maintenance - and this despite them being safety critical components on a truck.
It has become obvious that many transporters turn a blind eye to road safety, efficiency, environmental care and best business practice. But, as Bob Dylan put it, 'the times they are a changin' with Government regulators busy putting measures in place to ensure that sub-standard truck brakes and tyres no longer pose a threat to society writes
Paul Collings.
The truck brake and tyre manufacturing industries are not only technologically pioneering but politically intriguing as well. While researchers, scientists and engineers labour away in laboratories and factories designing and building better brakes and tyres, their counterparts in suits negotiate economic, environmental and political strategies to ensure business continues according to plan.
In South Africa, 2007 will prove an interesting year for the tyre industry with the promulgation of the Waste Tyre Regulation Act, the imposition of a 'green levy' on new tyre buyers and the retraction of anti-dumping tariffs by the Department of Trade and Industry.
And truck brakes will get their fare share of the spotlight too. The Department of transport is busy working with toll concessionaires upgrading toll-route weighbridge sites into full-scale vehicle test centres, equipped with brake roller testers and wireless data transfer from test centre to server to an interface with the NaTIS database.
Something's got to give
In the past year and a bit, FleetWatch, in conjunction with partners Wabco, Alfa International, CI Automotive and Bridgestone have held three 'Brake & Tyre Watch' initiatives where trucks and busses were pulled into vehicle test centres by municipal traffic officers to be inspected for roadworthiness by industry experts. The test results showed that the majority of vehicles checked were faulty in one way or another, particularly due to inferior tyres and brakes.
As we are aware, many operators do manage vehicle fitness according to 'best practice' policies and procedures, while others 'hit the ground running' on a daily basis without inspecting their vehicles comprehensively or simply ignoring the fact that safety-critical items on their trucks are in need of replacement. One only has to listen to daily radio traffic reports of truck accidents and failures to know there are many of this 'breed' out there doing serious damage to the industry, tarnishing its reputation, distorting rate values and jeopardizing road safety.
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There is a lot of work to
be done to rid the industry of unsafe vehicles such as this one
with a brake disc that is well past its ‘scrap by’ date and
yet it is still fitted to an operational vehicle. |
No more cheap and nasty
At the very core of modern truck brake and tyre development is the imperative to improve road safety. Manufacturers spend millions every year bringing products to market that help reduce accidents while assisting the end user to run more profitably. Naturally, these 'best-of-breed' products come at a premium and for the price-shy operator, cheaper options are available, be they pirate or second-hand parts. Unfortunately, very often, these budget-buys are not up to the task at hand resulting in on-road equipment failure and fatal accidents.
A combination of efforts from both government and industry is underway to force improvements in this area of road transport. New legislation will govern the lifecycle of tyres, ensuring scrap tyres do not find their way back onto the road (or into the veld, for that matter). New imported tyre and brake brands will have to meet local standards, audited by an improving web of SABS inspectors, while brake and tyre manufacturers and truck OEMs will continue to educate and assist operators in effective tyre management.
Healing the blind
There is clearly a lot of work to be done to rid the industry of unsafe vehicles and sub-spec components but it can be done through a multi-pronged approach where effective public/private partnerships are established to educate and regulate within the broader transport environment in order to achieve this end. The question is, what's being done right now?
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