At the National Tyre Distributors Association (NTDA) Conference in October in the UK (which is still part of the European Union until at least January 2020) it was announced that members have unanimously said ‘No’ to the sale of part-worn tyres in an independent survey.

The NTDA has also been significantly instrumental in helping the National Trading Standards Office prosecute tyre dealers who illegally sell defective part-worn tyres. Also following the survey NTDA’s Chief Executive, Stefan Hay has launched a new marketing campaign that is designed to assist members explain to their customers why part-worn tyres are not available at their retail outlets throughout the country.

A series of striking posters, web banners and advertisements using the clear headline – “NTDA Members don’t sell Part-Worn tyres are currently available to all members.

Stefan adds, “I am delighted that this campaign has the total support of our membership as in the absence of a meaningful enforcement regime, an outright ban on these dangerous tyres remains the only solution to ensure the safety of motorists.

“This forceful action follows inspections carried out over several years into the sale of part-worn tyres which indicate serious breaches of safety including irresponsible and unsafe repairs, exposed cords, bead damage and evidence of run-flat damage resulting in illegal, defective and under-inflated tyres being directly responsible for more that 40 per cent of all vehicle related deaths in the UK in recent years. At the same time defective or under-inflated tyres are also responsible for 35 per cent of all casualties on the roads caused by vehicle defects.”

It is also interesting to note that in the survey, 51 per cent of NTDA members rejected the idea that part-worn tyres are acceptsble if tested and inspected as part-worn and almost 90 percent would like to see “independent Audits” and a licence to sell introduced in order to ‘police’ part-worn dealers. Finally 78 per cent of members are actively calling for an environmental protection tariff on these tyres which are discarded by other European countries.