Fatal coach crash prompts coroner tyre age warning

A coroner has announced that he will write to the Department for Transport to address the issue of ageing tyres, following a coach accident last September which resulted in the deaths of three people.

The coach was transporting passengers who had attended an Isle of Wight music festival back to Merseyside, when it crashed through a fence on the A3 in Surrey and into a tree, resulting in the deaths of the driver and two passengers.

Recording a verdict of accidental death, Surrey coroner Richard Travers said that the failure of a tyre which was nearly 20 years old – two years older than the coach it was fitted to – was responsible for the accident, and questioned the fact that there is currently no legal limit on the age of tyres in service.

An expert who gave evidence at the inquest, accident investigator David Price, said the “abnormally old” tyre had been deteriorating on the inside for months; but the inquest ruled that it was perfectly legal to use, since there is no law in force preventing such old tyres from remaining in service, even on heavy vehicles such as lorries and coaches.

“I formally announce that I will be writing a rule 43 report to draw attention to the minister for transport of the very dangers caused by the fact that vehicles, be they private, commercial or public, are legally able to drive on tyres without restriction on age, and by reason of age are potentially in a perilous condition, which there is no realistic means of detecting,” Travers said.

Travers is not the first coroner to call for government action on the issue. In 2010, following another fatal accident involving a people carrier, Gloucestershire coroner Alan Crickmore called on the government to change MoT test rules so that any vehicle fitted with tyres manufactured more than ten years earlier would fail.

VOSA can fail vehicles at test, and issue immediate or delayed vehicle prohibitions following an inspection, for inadequate tyre condition. However, this generally relies on visible external indicators, such as bulging, damage to the side wall or tread area, tread wear beyond the legal limit, or severe underinflation.

In 2011-12, tyre condition came seventh in the list of top ten reasons for HGV trailer test fails (0.7 per cent), according to VOSA figures, but did not reach the top ten for HGV motor vehicle or PSV fails.

At inspections at the roadside and operators’ premises, however, a different picture emerged – with tyre condition being the second most common cause for prohibition of HGV motor vehicles (5.6 per cent), the third most common defect type for HGV trailers (8.4 per cent) and the fourth most common for PSVs (3.3 per cent).

This would appear to indicate a tendency for operators to address visible tyre condition issues immediately prior to annual test, rather than when they first appear.

A Department for Transport spokesperson told Transport Operator: “We have every sympathy with all those involved in this tragic accident.

“All vehicles must undergo an annual MOT where tyres are checked by a trained tester but it is the responsibility of vehicle owners to make sure that their vehicles are in a roadworthy condition throughout the year and, if they are purchasing replacement tyres, to ensure that these are safe to use on the road.”