NEWS

New website launchedA restyled NTDA website was launched last month providing the very latest mapping technology and a host of new features to maintain the site as one of the key portals for the UK tyre industry.

As well as restyling all the pages a brand new search facility has been included which points motorists to a local map which identifies the location of all member centres through a town search. This new facility will make it much easier for customers to identify NTDA member tyre centres, which we are sure will drive business to our members.

Other features include a database of all our Service Bulletins published to members over the past three years as well as pdf copies of the NTDA News from the past two years.

Commented NTDA Director Richard Edy “We have always endeavored to keep our site at the very leading edge of available technology and this latest revamp makes finding NTDA member sites so much easier, whilst providing members with an exclusive section, only accessible by password, which stores valuable information of vital interest to our membership”.

The special section for the Tyre Wholesalers Group also now includes a brand new search facility as well as details of which products are available from the members of the TWG.

All the winners of the 2010 TAFF Awards are listed on special pages along with historic information on past winners.

Autumn Ladies Nights dates…Blackpool and Belfast are the two locations for the NTDA’s key regional social events coming up this Autumn.

The Northern Ireland region is holding its Ladies Night on 13th November at the luxurious Merchant Hotel in Belfast city centre. The Hotel, which is the best five star hotel in the city, has a limited number of discounted rooms available to NTDA guests so please contact Alison at the Aylesbury NTDA office for full details.

The Northern Ireland event will also feature the presentation of the region’s very own TAFF Awards which are awarded annually to suppliers in the Province who have been voted for by local members. The North West and North Wales region is again returning to Blackpool for their Christmas Ladies Night being held on Blackpool front in the stylish Hilton Hotel on December 4th. Tickets are limited so anyone interested in attending should contact Aylesbury without delay.

Both these events are open to members and non members as well as suppliers.

Seminars off to a flyer at Brityrex

The first of a series of Health and Safety seminars, being staged throughout the UK by the NTDA, in collaboration with the Health and Safety Executive, was successfully launched at Brityrex with a sell out event attended by over fifty tyre dealers and health and safety professionals.The Manchester event was chaired by NTDA National Chair David White and featured an array of speakers, including presentations from ATS Euromaster and HiQ on how they approach Health and Safety in their networks. Senior officials from the Health and Safety Executive gave presentations on the new guidance document which has recently been published entitled Health and Safety in Motor Vehicle Repair and Associated Industries, as well as a presentation from an Ergonomics expert from the HSE on the new MAC tool featuring “push and pull” techniques. A special presentation on the dangers of working under vehicles and safety maintenance featured Dave Garratt, Director of the Garage Equipment Association. The second of the series will be held in Thurrock on November 9th and will be chaired by the Chairman of the Health and Safety Executive’s Motor Vehicles Repair Group, Peter Woolgar and will again feature speakers from both the Industry and the Health and Safety Executive.Two other events are planned for early next year and will be held in Bristol and Glasgow – locations with final dates to be announced shortly.

NEWSwww.ntda.co.uk

Minster announces major review of MOT

ASGRepresentatives from the NTDA supplier membership attended a meeting in the Midlands last month to discuss the viability of forming a special group within the membership, to provide a platform for suppliers from all sectors of our membership.

The meeting, which was chaired by Immediate Past President Peter Gaster, was attended by ten companies covering the whole spectrum of supplier membership from machinery and repair material suppliers to software suppliers and tyre manufacturers.

The general consensus from the meeting was that such a group should be formed and a lengthy discussion centered on the aims of the group and the possible structure.

The chairman confirmed that he considered there was a need for suppliers to get together with their customers to discuss

NTDA launches new Aftermarket Suppliers Group

issues of mutual interest. It was generally agreed that there were a number of issues which has cross membership interest, the principal ones being:

• Tyre Labeling • Software suppliers • Run Flat Repairing• Product Standards

On the last point the Director reported that he had initiated discussions with the Garage Equipment Manufacturers for a Machinery Certification Scheme which had been discussed by Council, who were generally supportive, but felt that a decision on whether to adopt a scheme should be considered by the Suppliers themselves. It was agreed that the scheme had merit and that Dave Garratt, Director of the GEA, should be invited to the next meeting to discuss proposals.

Members agreed that they would go away and consider how their companies would work with a Suppliers Group and what structure it should take.

The next meeting of the group, to which all suppliers are invited, will be held in Thurrock on November 9th.

As part of our ongoing campaign to fight proposals to reduce the frequency of MOTs the Association wrote to Mr Mike Penning MP, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Transport, to air our concerns on the potential impact on safety if any changes were made to the current 3.1.1.

The main message of the letter was to highlight two important points:

• Moving to 4.2.2. would risk an additional annual 400 road deaths • 4.2.2. would risk an additional 2,500 serious injuries per year

Commented NTDA Director Richard Edy “The fact that the estimated increase in annual road deaths almost matches the total number of road deaths per year resulting from drink and drugs related accidents is a stark reminder of the impact such a change could have. The Minister’s reply confirmed his intention to undertake a full review of the MOT test and assured us that due consideration would be given to our concerns.”

Details of this major review was outlined to us at a special meeting held at VOSA’s Bristol Headquarters last month, which was also attended by other Associations whose members are involved in MOT testing.

Following that meeting the Industry has also come up with a number of recommendations concerning changes to the MOT test with respect to tyres. The

current failure rate of MOT tests attributable to tyres is estimated at 11% and this would no doubt raise were the proposals to be adopted.

The first recommendation is that the inspection should be across the whole width of the tyre and not the arbitrary 75%, as is currently required.

Secondly, research has shown that braking distances (especially in the wet) are significantly reduced, the greater the tread depth. As such, it is proposed that, in the interests of road safety, the minimum tread depth for an MOT test should be increased from 1.6mm to 2mm. On this subject, it should be noted that many organisations, such as the police and Government, habitually change their tyres when the tread depth falls to 3mm.

The final point is that consideration should be given to introducing tyre age as a reason for failing the MOT test. This raises a number of questions, not least of which is “how old is too old?”

A Coroner recently wrote to the DfT, drawing attention to a fatal accident which was found to be at least partly caused by the vehicle’s 13 year-old tyres and calling for a ban on tyres over 10 years old.

A special edition of the NTDA Service Bulletin is being circulated to members featuring tyres and the MOT test. Copies are available from NTDA Headquarters Aylesbury.