you never know if the coach was speed limited to 54mph these lives may not have been lost!
Hiya i brought a new camper van ten years ago. i was having a job done on it at 4 years old.
the tyreman at the garage asked why the old tyres■■? i said new with the van. he told me 3 of the tyres
was 10 years old and one 9 years. i did’nt know the manufacture date was on the tyre.i do now.
i know of a truck that was made in 1942 it still has the same tyres on from new. its only done 10,000 miles.
i’d think the tyres on my truck may be 30 years old maybe older.i never check the date. plenty of tread.
john
Dan Punchard:
you never know if the coach was speed limited to 54mph these lives may not have been lost!
You never know if the coach didn’t have a 19 year old knackered tyre these lives may not have been lost
I still don’t get what he was doing going up the A3 anyway, what an odd route to get to merseyside.
FarnboroughBoy11:
I still don’t get what he was doing going up the A3 anyway, what an odd route to get to merseyside.
I thought this at the time too. Guess no one will ever know why.
I have see some old tyres on cars and given advice to customers when I worked in a tyre bay that was normally met with a look of he’s talking ■■■■!, but 19 year old ones is deff a first!
RIP to all involved.
Thats absolutely disgusting, the operators of the coach company should be jailed for live along with those who carried out inspections and MOT’s…
Saaamon:
Thats absolutely disgusting, the operators of the coach company should be jailed for live along with those who carried out inspections and MOT’s…
No they shouldn’t it’s complete conjecture, and any decent tyre ‘expert’ should tell the court a one week old tyre can still have a blowout. This is just about finding a scapegoat to appease grieving relatives. If the driver wasn’t dead he’d be being blamed for failing to maintain control of the vehicle and his speed would be being questioned.
I do agree with the earlier point that travelling at a faster speed may be contibutory in making it harder to control.
Own Account Driver:
Saaamon:
Thats absolutely disgusting, the operators of the coach company should be jailed for live along with those who carried out inspections and MOT’s…No they shouldn’t it’s complete conjecture, and any decent tyre ‘expert’ should tell the court a one week old tyre can still have a blowout. This is just about finding a scapegoat to appease grieving relatives. If the driver wasn’t dead he’d be being blamed for failing to maintain control of the vehicle and his speed would be being questioned.
I do agree with the earlier point that travelling at a faster speed may be contibutory in making it harder to control.
But which tyre is more likely to have a blow out? This is just typical of cowboy operators who think they can get away with not looking after their lorries or in this case coach… It ■■■■■■■ boils my ■■■■ these ■■■■■ who think the rules are more like guidelines, 3 people have lost their lives because a few people couldnt be bothered and or wanted to save a couple of quid!!
I think the going up the A3 was due to having to drop/collect at Victoria? The speed is questionable as where he left the road is only meters past where the tunnel speed limit finishes and the average camera for the exit of the tunnel. Maybe just maybe it was just a tragic accident? I know they don’t exist any more because someone is always to blame! But maybe this could be one?
Own Account Driver:
Saaamon:
Thats absolutely disgusting, the operators of the coach company should be jailed for live along with those who carried out inspections and MOT’s…No they shouldn’t it’s complete conjecture, and any decent tyre ‘expert’ should tell the court a one week old tyre can still have a blowout. This is just about finding a scapegoat to appease grieving relatives. If the driver wasn’t dead he’d be being blamed for failing to maintain control of the vehicle and his speed would be being questioned.
I do agree with the earlier point that travelling at a faster speed may be contibutory in making it harder to control.
100% spot on!
I know this accident was a while ago but having driven back up the m1 this afternoon I counted 7 trucks with blow out’s/tyre problems, during this hot weather it will soon sort out a bad tyre, even if they were re moulds I doubt if any were over 6/7 years old
the coach firm have broken no rules/laws so why send them to jail?
when you have a blow out on the front speed will be a major factor when it comes to keeping control of a bus
Theres a big difference between a tyre that is 6-7years old compared to one that is 19years old… I feel strongly about this sort of thing having actually worked recently for a company that didnt bother with proper inspections and maintenance, its down right dangerous and in this case its cost 3 people their lives, tyres are such a safety critical item and they’ve failed to check them… I honestly dont understand some people on this forum, 30mins over your time and your considered a ■■■■■■■ idiot but to drive on a tyre that 19years old is perfectly fine 
…
Saaamon:
Theres a big difference between a tyre that is 6-7years old compared to one that is 19years old… I feel strongly about this sort of thing having actually worked recently for a company that didnt bother with proper inspections and maintenance, its down right dangerous and in this case its cost 3 people their lives, tyres are such a safety critical item and they’ve failed to check them… I honestly dont understand some people on this forum, 30mins over your time and your considered a [zb] idiot but to drive on a tyre that 19years old is perfectly fine
do you know what the age limit for a tyre is? inspections can be as far as 12 weeks apart by law, so 12 weeks ago the tyre may have been fine
98% of the time there a tell tale signs before a tyre blows out if you know what you’re looking for during a visual check, so you could say the daily checks were not done right then
another point the half worn tyre may have been in storage for 12 years un inflated in a cool dark room!
I believe its recommend to change tyres regardless of tread depth at around the 10year mark… The fact that in the news report it says the tyre was abnormally old means people that actually know what their talking about are saying it was a factor speaks volumes… Why would anyone store a tyre for 19years, lets be realistic about this… Anyway not to worry atleast i now know that its more than acceptable to have a 19 old tyre fitted to the front of my lorry but whatever happens i must not go 6mins over my driving time so i can have a shower just incase i fall asleep at the wheel… Wont be long until im a true professional…
Old tyres do perish, you only have to look how many caravans end up as firewood on the M5. The caravan could well be 10 years old but the tyre tread may be perfect. I certainly wouldnt ride a classic motorbike without knowing that the tyres had been replaced
Saaamon:
I believe its recommend to change tyres regardless of tread depth at around the 10year mark… The fact that in the news report it says the tyre was abnormally old means people that actually know what their talking about are saying it was a factor speaks volumes… Why would anyone store a tyre for 19years, lets be realistic about this… Anyway not to worry atleast i now know that its more than acceptable to have a 19 old tyre fitted to the front of my lorry but whatever happens i must not go 6mins over my driving time so i can have a shower just incase i fall asleep at the wheel… Wont be long until im a true professional…
This ‘expert’ will be either some sort of accident consultant or professor specialising in studying rubber from some university. They are paid by the courts or police for their opinions which are effectively what the courts or police want to hear or they won’t get a return invite they are neither independent or what a lot of people would consider to be experts. I guarantee this ‘expert’ will have changed less tyre blowouts at the side of the road than me if any at all.
In this incident there’s a clear witness statement that the driver never even touched the brakes which suggests he wasn’t concentrating fully. Because that particular scapegoat is dead another one has to be cooked up to throw to the mob.
Maybe he didn’t touch the brakes because he didn’t want to make it worse. He was an experienced driver and might have kept his cool until the last. Just a horrible accident.
peterm:
Maybe he didn’t touch the brakes because he didn’t want to make it worse. He was an experienced driver and might have kept his cool until the last. Just a horrible accident.
Obviously you shouldn’t slam them on immediately but there comes a point if you’re heading down an embankment where you’re going to have to go for them.
Rubber does have a shelf life & does degrade over time. 19 years is taking the mickey, the rubber would look visually fatigued to anyone who isn’t brain dead.