NRSC to ban used tyres in September

The National Road Safety Commission (NRSC) is to begin the enforcement of the ban on the use of second-hand vehicle tyres in the country from September.

This is because such tyres increase the risk of road crashes occurrence by 30 per cent.

Mrs May Obiri-Yeboah, Executive Director of NRSC announced on Wednesday, during the Commission’s 2013 mid-year review in Kumasi.

She, therefore, charged staff of the Commission to embark upon education campaign to pave the way for the ban.

About 75 per cent of vehicle or trailer tyres in the country are second-hand.

Road Traffic Regulation 62, sub-section (2) said: “A person shall not fit a tyre on a motor vehicle or a trailer if the tyre is more than four years old, counting from the date of manufacture."

Mr Rudolph Beckly, Chief Executive of the Driver, Vehicle and Licensing Authority (DVLA) who spoke on: “Vehicle tyres and crash management in Ghana,” said poor knowledge on vehicle tyre maintenance and usage accounts for a number of road crashes.

He said new tyres are cost effective and advised vehicle owners to stop spending money on tyres that could cause their death.

Mr Beckly noted that about 85 per cent of vehicle owners in Ghana check the pressure of their tyres only when the pressure is low instead of doing that daily.

He said the recommended vehicle tyres for the country are pneumatic tyres manufactured for use in hot and normal weather areas, labelled temperature class A or B.

Mr Beckley said class “C” tyres are not good and urged commercial drivers to desist from using them.

He said the DVLA and NRSC and other stakeholders are putting measures in place to ensure that vendors provide detail information on tyres they sell to the public.

Mr Beckley urged vehicle owners to stick to vehicle tyre specifications and patronise only trained vulcanisers to reduce road crashes.