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All Aboard!, Issue #008 -- New label makes comparing tyres easier
November 28, 2012

All Aboard! - eNews

The latest on everything in the passenger transport industry: changes in legislation, tips for road safety, CPC training dates,...

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News



1. New label makes comparing tyres easier

When buying new tyres, price is often the key factor in the decission, but the introduction of tyre labelling makes comparing tyres on other factors easier.

The labels look very similar to the rating labels used to indicate the energy efficiency of household appliances and rates 3 characteristics:

  1. Fuel efficiency:
    The rolling resistance co-efficient (in kg/tonne) comes from the deformation of the tyre in contact with the road. This can use up to 20% of the energy used to move the vehicle, so a lower rolling resistance means better fuel consumption.
  2. Wet grip performance:
    This comparesa tyre's braking distance ratio, measuring deceleration from 60 km/h to 20 km/h.
  3. Noise level:
    The higher the rolling resistance, the more noise a tyre will make. The noise level is indicated on the label by 1, 2 or 3 curved bars as well as a decibel reading.

    The new tyre label shows rating on 3 characteristics

    For cars, vans and light commercials this information must be on a label on the tyre or on a point-of-sale invoice.

    For PSV tyres a label is not required but the information still has to be provided to the buyer. Bus and coach tyres have to meet a range of performance criteria of which those on the new label are only three.

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    2. Top 10 PSV Roadside Prohibitions

    VOSA is providing key numbers in their quarterly publication.

    For the 3rd quarter of this year for example, 85% of issues found during roadside inspections should have been detected by the driver carrying out a proper walkaround inspection prior to taking the vehicle out on the road, or by noticing changes in the vehicle handling or behaviour whilst in use.

    These issues can result in fixed penalties or endorsements for the driver, a record of failing on the operators licence and changes to the operators OCRS (Operator Compliance Risk Score). These can result in vehicles being stopped more often for further inspections.

    Souce: Moving On - 22/11/2012 - VOSA


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    Tips

    1. Check your CPC hours online

    Working out how many drivers have completed part or all of their 35 hours for their Driver CPC is a bit tricky.

    First of all, the DSA numbers do not make a distinction between PSV and LGV drivers. Secondly, they don't know exactly how many of the C and D licence holders are actually driving commercially and therefore require the CPC.

    DSA is anticipating that 166,000 PSV holders will require a Driver's Qualification Card (DQC) and 590,000 LGV drivers, for a total of 756,000.

    Quarterly published statistics show that between the inception of Driver CPC in September 2008 and March 2011, DSA delivred 14,660 DQC's, with a further 29,219 delivered between April 2011 and March 2012, for a total of 43,879.

    It would seem there is a way to go still before the deadlines in September 2013 (PSV) and 2014 (LGV)...

    To check how many hours you have accumulated, visit the DSA website at http://tinyurl.com/drivercert. After registering you'll receive your password to get access to the database.



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    2. Not all snow tyres are snow tyres!

    Looking for tyres tat work well in winter weather?

    Don't be fooled by a "M + S" marking on the tyre wall. The letters stand for "mud and snow", but not all tyres marked as such are actually suitable for wintry conditions.

    Not good enough for snow!

    A snow tyre has to pass strictly defined performance tests. Snow tyres have a higher rolling resistance but true winter tyres are developed to perform better at lower temperatures.

    Tyres that meet the standard will display the snow tyre symbol: a snow flake on the outline of a mountain.

    Look for this symbol for snow tyres


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    Driver CPC Courses

    Still need to complete the 35 hours Periodic training?

    Join our monthly scheduled sessions over the winter and have your Driver CPC completed before the next season starts.

    Places available:
    Tuesday 11 December 2012:
    Road Risk - Drug & Alcohol Awareness: safety issues on the road, effects of fatigue, drugs and alcohol use.

    Still have all 5 modules to do? Pre-book your seat for the entire series and receive a discount.

    Bespoke training for company bookings on-site or at a location of your choice.

    For enquiries and bookings: info@driver-cpc-coach.co.uk or click here for an enquiry form.



    That's it for now!

    Drive safely,
    Nora

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