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Copyright ©NTDA 2011

NEWSwww.ntda.co.uk SERVICE BULLETIN

If there are any topics that you would like to see included in future service bulletins please contact the Editor Peter Gardner by email at: petergardner5@btinternet.com or NTDA direct at: info@ntda.co.uk or call 08449 67 07 07.

Issue 5/11

• If the tyre on one side of an axle had a different structure or nominal size to the other, it would fail.

If a super single tyre fouls any part of the vehicle, Inspection Manual section 8 would result in a fail. Also, under Inspection Manual section 14 the vehicle would fail under wings and wheel arches if part of the width of the super single protruded when in the straight ahead position.

Alan Wilson reiterated that a tyre should not fail the MOT just because it is a super single and he has the following advice should this happen: “Customers should challenge the test decision at the test centre straight away, where the Inspection Manual can be referred to. There is an established process in place for this.”

So there you have it – the definitive answer on the subject by VOSA’s Head of Testing Schemes Management and, when it comes to MOTs, you can’t get much more authoritative than that.

Licence to Fit

Back in 1998, six vehicle recovery operators were killed on Britain’s motorways and hard shoulders and this prompted the AA and the RAC to fund the establishment of SURVIVE in March 1999. SURVIVE stands for Safe Use of Roadside Verges In Vehicular Emergencies and the purpose of the Group was to promote the safety of persons working or stopping on motorway hard shoulders and high-speed dual carriageways.

Photo courtesy of Continental

‘Tyrelink’ is the name for the NTDA’s long-established tyre breakdown scheme, which includes members of the Association offering 24 hour roadside breakdown service for trucks throughout the whole of the UK and Northern Ireland.

Tyrelink brings with it the industry’s most sophisticated and technologically advanced call handling and job allocation system. Tyrelink is available to any haulage operator or logistics company through any full member of the NTDA. The breakdowns are handled and allocated by Lantern Recovery through their state of the art control centre in Potters Bar.

All calls are timed, dated and logged into the system as well as being voice recorded and jobs are allocated, automatically to the nearest depot, depending on pre-arranged instructions with regard to preferred partners. The scheme comes in very useful for timed delivery loads as Tyrelink is able to estimate the likely duration of the delay.

Members are issued with a password which should be given to the Tyrelink operator for coverage of breakdowns. An 0800 number is called in case of a breakdown and this is a freephone number. It is operational 24 hours per day, 365 days per year and the operator will answer with ‘Tyrelink’.

Members are able to pre-arrange preference with regard to trading partners, tyre brands or it is possible to set up an identification system for your hauliers to combat potential misuse. All information with regard to customer details is highly confidential and Lantern is bound by the Data Protection Act and are liable to extensive fines if confidentiality is breached.

For more information please contact: Alison Fitzgerald Tel: 08449 670707 Email: alisonfitzgerald@ntda.co.uk

NTDA

Super Singles and the MOT

The Association has received a number of reports from members about the fitting of super singles. Originally designed for fitment to trailers, these are now increasingly being fitted on tractor units and members are telling us that their trucks are failing the MOT test, seemingly just because

they have super singles fitted on the drive axle.

What are the rights and wrongs of this – should super singles not be fitted to drive axles? The NTDA initiated enquiries and eventually the question was passed to Alan Wilson, who is Head of Testing Schemes Management at VOSA, the Vehicle & Operator Services Agency, for the definitive answer.

Alan replies that a super single tyre fitted to a tractor unit should not fail an MOT just on the grounds that it is a super single.

However, there are other reasons why it might fail. These are as follows:

• If the tyre’s ply rating, load index or speed rating was below the plated weights for the vehicle then it would fail under Inspection Manual section 7• If the tyre was marked “FRT” and fitted to the drive axle• If the tyre was marked “Trailer use only”

Keep on TruckingThis Service Bulletin concentrates on truck tyres, with the answer to a technical query and news of two new initiatives; one from the NTDA and another from GfK Retail and Technology.

NEWS www.ntda.co.ukSERVICE BULLETIN

The SURVIVE Group is a partnership between the Highways Agency, the Association of Chief Police Offi cers, the breakdown/recovery industry and other service providers.

The safety of roadside fi tters has long been a priority for the NTDA and, at its recent Council meeting, the Association decided to make its Licence to Fit (LTF) programme mandatory for members carrying out roadside tyre maintenance. In short, this means that every NTDA member working at the side of the road will have undergone thorough training in safety and the correct procedures to adopt.

One would like to think that companies would insist on this as a matter of course, but for the fi rst time, LTF-accredited fi tters will have a card to prove that they have received proper training.

The LTF programme is currently being developed by a group of members and the NTDA Directorate and will include a requirement that fi tters attending truck tyre breakdowns on the roadside will be suitably trained, through a variety of qualifi cations, to work safely in the dangerous environment of a roadside breakdown.

Among the qualifi cations are City & Guilds in Roadside Breakdowns, IMI QAA award in road and site safety, Vehicle Fitting VRQ unit RA03 (Roadside Assistance) and Level 2 Apprenticeship in Vehicle Fitting (to include unit RA03/V72). In addition to these, some larger companies in the tyre industry have their own existing schemes in place which would qualify under LTF.

The NTDA already publishes recommendations and guidelines for dealing with roadside tyre servicing covering all aspects, including where and how to park and lay out traffi c cones, a list of equipment, including safety clothing and refl ective jacket and the correct procedure to adopt before,

during and after the breakdown, including which authorities and organisations to contact. The working group involved in the development of the LTF programme will also be studying these recommendations to see which are still relevant to LTF and what amendments need to be made to ensure that they comply with the new standard.

At present, the LTF scheme is still under development and

should be ready to roll out to the membership in the coming months, but it is likely that LTF would require fi ve-yearly reassessments and a fi ve-year licence would cost £50 to help with administration costs.

It is proposed that the LTF scheme has its own dedicated section of the NTDA website, with some pages open to all, carrying links to training providers and other relevant organisations, such as SURVIVE, Highways Agency and City & Guilds. Other pages would be restricted to LTF holders and password protected so they could print off details and make corrections and amendments, where necessary.

At the Council meeting, the NTDA stressed the importance of re-establishing its relationship with the Highways Agency to discuss the introduction of the LTF scheme and that the best route would be through SURVIVE. To this end, the Association will approach SURVIVE to discuss the status of LTF and future relations between the two organisations.

Accurate market research and market intelligence are vital tools in assisting companies to spot and monitor trends and help them run more effi ciently. And in today’s economic climate, that can give you an invaluable edge.

Larger companies spend many thousands of pounds on data collection and analysis, but here we have the icing on the cake for participating tyre dealers, as the GfK reports will be supplied to them totally free of charge.

Participating tyre dealers will benefi t from up-to-date market intelligence at no cost and with no effort – it really is a unique opportunity for tyre dealers to better understand their market and it is completely cost- and risk-free. Don’t forget, “knowledge is power” and it’s even more satisfying when it costs nothing.

GfK’s Field Team are in the process of contacting tyre dealers direct to sign up those interested in taking part and to answer any questions that you might have.

The car tyre panel has proved itself a valuable and accurate source of market information – now is your chance to help establish the same facility for those serving the truck tyre market.

NTDA members will doubtless be familiar with the work of GfK within the tyre market, producing regular reports on market size, market shares and trends, among other information. According to the old saying, “knowledge is power” and GfK (which stands for ‘Growth from Knowledge’) describes itself as ‘a knowledge provider’ and has been collecting, processing and analysing data on various markets since its foundation in 1937.

Currently, GfK’s activities in the UK tyre industry are restricted to the car tyre market (their tyre panel was launched in 2008), but the NTDA is pleased to offer truck tyre dealers the chance to take part in a similar exercise, aimed at the truck tyre market.

GfK intends to launch its truck tyre panel and is looking for dealers to participate in the project. What’s involved? Dealers agree to supply their weekly electronic sales data, which is collected automatically, and this is analysed by GfK. All information is treated in the strictest confi dence and securely stored.

What’s in it for the tyre dealer? By participating in the process, the dealer will automatically receive up-to-date market intelligence on the truck tyre sector; reports including details of top selling lines, newsletters and information on the retail market.

GfK Offers “Unique Cost-Free Opportunity” for Truck Tyre Dealers

during and after the breakdown, including which authorities and organisations to contact. The working group involved in the development of the LTF programme will also be studying these