Beware! Your new tyres may have expired

On his way to work last week, Mr. David Oyetoro, a banker, nearly lost his life on Western Avenue Road, Lagos.

Travelling at 100km/h, he had a jolly ride and he was a few minutes to his destination.

Suddenly, there was a loud noise indicating that one of his Toyota Sienna car tyres had burst and the battle to save his life ensued.

He manoeuvred for a few minutes and managed to bring the car to a safe halt. It was stopped by a median.

Bewildered and panting, Oyetoro came out of the car; for some minutes, he couldn’t utter a word. He appeared to wonder far into what would have become of him, had the car somersaulted.

Eventually, he told sympathisers, “One thing that amazes me now is the fact that I just replaced my four tyres with new ones a month ago. I least expected this to happen to me. This must be my enemies at work.”

Contrary to his conclusion, experts said that Oyetoro could have bought new but expired tyres.

Saturday PUNCH learnt that like Oyetoro, many motorists live with the illusion that they are well covered, seeing they had recently spent thousands of naira to buy new set of tyres.

But not everyone, who had experienced a tyre burst was so fortunate to have lived to tell the story.

According to the Federal Road Safety Commission, tyre burst ranks third among causes of road crashes in Nigeria.

“Road crashes as at week 44 indicate that tyre burst presently occupies the third position with 650 cases among causative factors for road crashes in the country. It is also instructive to add that speed limit violation, which is related variable to tyre burst, has maintained the first position with 3,010 cases,” a 2013 FRSC report said.

But why would new tyres burst within weeks of their purchase? Saturday PUNCH found that it could be that they had exceeded their life span. Tyres have between two to three years shelf life from the date of manufacture. That means that people could buy new tyres that have expired and face the same risk as if they were using second-hand tyres.

The FRSC confirmed that most new tyres may have expired even without having been used, and so pose potential danger to undiscerning users.

Usually, tyres expiration dates are indicated on the tyre. They come in four digits indicating the week and year of manufacture. The first two of the four-digit numbers found on a round-ended box show the week the tyre was made. So, if the numbers are “0112,” it means that the tyre was made in first week of the year 2012; that is in January.

Saturday PUNCH found that although this piece of information is supposed to be basic knowledge for all drivers and road users, but many rarely cared about the information on their tyres at the point of purchase.

There is also another group that does not realise the importance of the figures or how they could affect them.

With the Yuletide around the corner again, thoughts of safety and journeying are top on the minds of Nigerians.

But as far as safe journeys are concerned, the FRSC said there was no wishing away the need for good tyres in guaranteeing getting to one’s destination.

Some members of the public however introduced a sharp contrast to the issue.

Damning the consequence, they said they would rather patronise the second-hand tyre merchants chiefly for cost effective considerations.

Saturday PUNCH, also learnt that some merchants had perfected ways of rethreading used tyres to make them appear better but such tyres may twist and cause accidents after travelling fairly long distances. In most cases, this category of tyres no longer have expiry dates inscribed due to long period of use.

It was also gathered that in spite of the ban on used tyres by the Standard Organisation of Nigeria in August 2012, high demand still drives this line of business.

Observers, however, adduced the failure in enforcement to the porosity of the nation’s ports and partly the absence of SON officials at the ports.

Another viewpoint said high patronage of second-hand tyres could be a result of rising cost of the new tyres. The cost of new tyres became escalated since the exit of almost all the tyre manufacturing companies from Nigeria, principally because of poor power supply.

A market survey by our correspondent showed that the cost of a new tyre currently is about twice the price of an old tyre.

Depending on the size and brand, one requires between N12,000 and N16,000 and more to get new tyres of rim 15 and 16 used for general saloon cars. On the other hand, its first grade used variant goes for between N4,000 to N5,500.

New tyres meant for SUVs and jeeps with rim 17 to 19, costs about N25,000 to 30,000 and more. The used variant however costs between N10,000 and N15,000.

A commercial bus driver, simply identified as Aliu, told Saturday PUNCH that he could not ‘waste’ his money to buy new tyres because they were too expensive.

Obviously caring only about saving cost, Aliu said he knew nothing about expiry dates of tyres. He said he believed his tyres were okay for as long as they were still on the roads.

He said, “I have been in this business for about a decade and I have never bought a new tyre. I have a shop where I get first grade fairly used tyres whenever I need them. Sometimes, I am lucky to get ones that serve me for a long time, sometimes, they fail too soon. At the end of the day, I save half the amount I should have used to buy new and unreliable tyres. I don’t know any commercial driver that buys new tyres. Show me one when you find him.”

It was observed that the views of four out of every 10 private vehicle owners were in tandem with those expressed by Aliu.

That is irrespective of age bracket, sex, education and financial stamina, as many people live with the psyche that they were better off with imported first grade used tyres.

Mrs. Debola Adeyemi, an ICT consultant with a higher institution told Saturday PUNCH that her mechanic of eight years always got her tyres whenever she needed a replacement for her car.

She, however, said that she was not aware that even new tyres could expire and be dangerous. “What you mean now is that my Tokunbo tyres could be more risky, if new ones could have expired at the point of purchase. It has been good for me because I have never had any issues with my Tokunbo tyres. Usually, they last for about six months before I need to change them.”

But Mr. Ochefu Michael believes that new tyres offer a better deal. For him, it is about how much one values his life.

He said, “Even when I bought a car (not brand new), I usually change all the tyres that come with it. That way, I have satisfied my conscience that I have done what is right. Nigerians are too religious; they love to blame God for everything instead of doing their part.”

Speaking on the importance of goods tyres, the Corps Commander, Corps Public Education Officer, FRSC Headquarters Abuja, Jonas Agwu, told Saturday PUNCH that car tyres are very important to the life of a motorist because that is the only link between the vehicle and the road.

He said, “It carries the load in the vehicle and to a large extent, can determine the safety of all occupants in a vehicle at any point in time.”

Apart from the quality of the tyre at the time of purchase, he said that tyre pressure should be considered. He said that to under or over inflate tyres could be equally dangerous.

He said, “Under-inflated tyres wear fast at the edges (aka the shoulders) of the tread pattern, which means you will need new tyres sooner.  Under-inflated tyres overheat, and overheated tyres commonly burst, and if this happens when you are travelling at a speed, the potential for danger is clear.

“If, on the other hand, a driver over-inflates the tyres, it is the central band of the tread pattern that wears fastest because the tyre has bulged like an over-inflated balloon. With over-inflated tyres, braking ability is reduced.”

On the issue of a tyre’s shelf life,  Agwu said, “Ideally, a new tyre has two to three years time-line. As a commodity, a tyre should have a shelf life. This explains why a tyre degrades with time.

He said, “Empirical studies have shown that when a new tyre is still on the shelf, the oils, chemicals, rubber and bonding used in the manufacture all start to come apart as time wears on. If a tyre is not used, it only speeds up the process, because there are certain chemicals used to protect the tyre that are only activated if the tyre is in normal use.

“However, the weather, road condition, driving style and maintenance pattern of the tyre by the car owner, play important role as variables to determine its performance and life span.”

For those who profess preferred used tyres, he warned, “By their nature, Tokunbo tyres are used tyres. They have lost the original status and the wall inscriptions such as recommended tyre pressure and expiry date are usually gone. This scenario makes it difficult for some people to acquire Tokunbo tyres with expiry date and further put their lives at risk. FRSC does not encourage patronage of them.”

He added that whenever people took delivery of used cars from other countries, they should endeavour to change all the four tyres because many of the cars had been on the road for about 10 years.

Speaking on why some new tyres burst a few weeks after they were bought, he said, “Even on the shelf, a new tyre can still expire without fixing it to a vehicle. This is due to the chemicals used to manufacture it. They tend to wear with time.

“The crucial point is that even though those aged tyres still look perfectly new when they are bought, the age-related deterioration of the rubber has taken place and so the only piece of vehicle-equipment that actually keeps your car running under control is in danger of both failing you and killing you.

“Remember that unless we do high mileages, we can reasonably expect new tyres to last for two, three or even four years; so there is no point whatsoever in buying tyres that have less than the necessary number of years remaining before they reach their optimal point of performance.

“It should also be noted that a tyre can burst due to manufacturer’s defects. This informs why we harp on safety consciousness among motorists, especially on speed limit and routine check on tyres.”

Copyright PUNCH.*