2012 New Tyre Laws
With the New Year just around the corner new tyre laws are on the way. Importing cheap tyres online from China will become illegal overnight. This new law may push up the cost of tyres as some of the lower budget tyres will no longer be sold. All types of tyres will be affected by the change from 4×4 tyres to van tyres, and they will all require the new label.
The new tyre labelling system will become a compulsory standard in October 2012. The main differences between the current system and the 2012 tyre laws are the following;
Noise – Minimum standards have to be met before the car tyres can even be evaluated. The scale is between A – G along with the noise rating in decibels
Wet Braking – Minimum standards will be expected to be achieved on this as well as noise. With tyre manufacturers concentrating efforts on wet use tyres it is clear the technology already exists to reduce wet weather braking distances. This information will have to be available to customers when the tyre is purchased.
Rolling Resistance (CO2 and fuel economy) – Much like the chart banding that you would show you the energy efficiency of your new fridge and your house, tyres are to be banded in the same way. This information will be shown in an easy to read traffic light system.
Around 30% of current UK tyres stocks would fail this standard if it were law today.