PNG Fleet Operators: Safety Bulletin #1Monday February 1, 2016

Fleet operators in Papua New Guinea are encouraged to review their vehiclemaintenance procedures and staff training, as poor maintenance continues tocompromise fleet safety and efficiency.

SDT - Safe Drive Training operates across PNG and our Safe Driving Instructors have witnessed many safetyissues that increase the risk of a motor vehicle crashes from a tyre failure or from the reduced grip from tyresthat are low on tread, under-inflated and in some cases the wrong type of tyre (snow or mud tyres) or very oldbuild date tyres. The use of incorrect or unchecked tyre pressures increases fuel consumption and tyre wearrates. Many companies have a pre-start vehicle check requirement; but have not provided any training totheir vehicle operators on how to perform these checks.

The following advice is provided by Safe Drive Training (SDT) in the interests of road safety in PapuaNew Guinea.

Many 4WD vehicles in Papua New Guinea are fittedwith Mud-Terrain (M/T) style tyres. If the vehicletravels predominantly on tarmac sealed roads andgravel roads it is the recommended that All-Terrain(A/T) be fitted. A Mud-Terrain tyre generally hasreduced grip on tarmac sealed roads especially in wetweather. Mud-Terrain tyres are more suited to drivingin off-road conditions with only occasional use onsealed roads.

Dust caps should also be used on all wheels, thesecaps prevent dust and grime from causing a slow leakof air pressure from the valve.

Some tyre fitters are poorly trained or underpaid for ahot and laborious job. It is common to see tyres fittedincorrectly. The arrows on the sidewall show that this“directional tyre” is mounted incorrectly on the wheel.

With the tyre rotating in the wrong direction, this willcompromise traction especially off-road in mud andon wet roads. This will also increase tread wearand/or tread damage.

The tyre in the photograph needs to be removed fromthe wheel and refitted with the inside face on theoutside, as per the directional arrows on the tyresidewall.

DIRECTION OF TRAVEL

PNG Fleet Operators: Safety Bulletin #1Monday February 1, 2016

Many 2nd hand Japanese vehicles are imported intoPapua New Guinea and are sold in an “as iscondition”. The tyres (see photo) fitted to this importedNissan X-Trail are “snow tyres”.

If you Google search “Bridgestone Blizzak DM-Z3”you will find that this tyre is made for snow and iceconditions (like those found in Japan) but not in PNG.For this tyre the tread rubber is softer for operating invery cold weather and the tread pattern is notdesigned for clearing heavy rain. These winter tyreswill wear very quickly and won’t provide the samehandling capabilities as summer tyres. They shouldnot be used on vehicles in Papua New Guinea.

The tyres on many vehicles in Papua New Guinea arebadly damaged from driving on rough roads and thetread blocks are badly worn. Some vehicles also havelow tread depth, nearing the tread wear indicators (thelevel that indicates when replacement is required).These factors will result in less traction on wet roads.

Due to the drought conditions currently in PNG, theroads will be very slippery after the first light rainfalls,since there will be a build-up of dust and grime on theroad surface which heavy rain or regular rainfallwashes away.

SDT encourages HSE managers to warn their driversof this reduced traction after periods of dry weather.

With the crowding at service stations and theft of airgauges, it is difficult to find access to compressed airfor tyre inflation. Also due to poor maintenance tyresare not checked often. The tyre pictured lookscorrectly inflated but as shown from the gauge in thepicture, the cold tyre pressure is 14psi. This isextremely dangerous. Underinflated tyres:

- Burn more fuel (reduced efficiency)- Wear the tyre faster (reduced efficiency)- Aquaplane in wet weather- Can roll-off the wheel during sharp steering

which can result in a rollover- Have a greater risk of overheating and

blowouts during a long journey- Result in a larger braking distance (more

chance of an impact)

PNG Fleet Operators: Safety Bulletin #1Monday February 1, 2016

Without suitable consumer protection laws a countrycan become a dumping ground for old stocks of tyres(unsold or surplus). These tyres are often “parallelimported” and not sold by the OEM or their agent.

The tyre shown is a very old build date. This tyre wasmanufactured in the 37th week of 2010 (3710). Thiscode can be found on all tyres, but sometimes by badluck or to hide the date from the buyer, it will be onthe inside face of the tyre (not easy to see).

SDT recommends that fleet operators purchase tyresno more than 3 years old, otherwise the rubber will behardened and less pliable resulting in reduced traction(more wheel spin or skidding). Ideally a tyre is storedin a dark warehouse before being purchased. A 2010build date tyre is very old rubber and should not be inuse on your vehicles.

PNG Fleet Operators: Safety Bulletin #1Monday February 1, 2016

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Contact us for a copy of our 2016 PNG Driver Training Brochureand receive 5 TYRE GAUGES (as pictured) to assist your fleet safety