Tyres not roadworthy bigger cause of accidents than prev thought

grogi

mikeym wrote: »

Nobody gives a crap about the low income earners that barely afford to maintain their cars, dont forget people who drive older cars pay more in road tax than the rich folk in newer cars.

You should distinguish between the state caring or not about the lower earning part of the society and caring/not caring about the state of automobiles on the roads. An undetermined automobile brings danger not only to the its user, but also to any other else in the roads.

coylemj

mikeym wrote: »

Person on low income who cant afford to get new tyres gets caught, fined €80 buys new tyre or tyres and has to tell insurance company that he/she has 2 points which will drive up the cost of insurance.

Nobody gives a crap about the low income earners that barely afford to maintain their cars, dont forget people who drive older cars pay more in road tax than the rich folk in newer cars.

No need for penalty points the fine should be enough and there should be more spot checks by the Gardai.

The whole point about penalty points is that it levels the playing field and makes the rich guy feel the pain just as much as the low income people you claim to be speaking for.

The stats from Dublin city parking and clamping bears this out - one guy was clamped 55 times in four years demonstrating that if the only penalty is cash then the rich guy doesn't give a crap and has virtually no incentive to comply with the rules.

Charles Babbage

mikeym wrote: »

Person on low income who cant afford to get new tyres gets caught, fined €80 buys new tyre or tyres and has to tell insurance company that he/she has 2 points which will drive up the cost of insurance.

Nobody gives a crap about the low income earners that barely afford to maintain their cars, dont forget people who drive older cars pay more in road tax than the rich folk in newer cars.

No need for penalty points the fine should be enough and there should be more spot checks by the Gardai.

There is a case that a fine alone is appropriate, especially for tyres that are not great, but not slick. However it would need to be a bigger fine. €80 is the cost of a tyre and hardly covers the cost of administering the fine, the fine should be €500. There is no logic in these fines for safety related offences that are less than the cost of getting a car unclamped that has overstayed on a meter.

If people cannot afford to run a car safely then they should not run a car at all.

sunnysoutheast

Wanderer2010 wrote: »

I don't know much about cars but my recent service came back saying my two back tyres sidewalls were "perished" and should be replaced. It's a 2012 Astra so I'm just going to bite the bullet and get all four tyres replaced with brand new ones even if it's expensive will that do the trick, safety wise? Or do I also have to track balance and align them? Any advice appreciated

If the tyres are otherwise lightly worn you often get wear/damage on the inside sidewalls of tyres from driving over speed cushions "flat", it's always better to go over them with one wheel completely.

If the tread has worn unevenly then tracking/alignment would be advised.

Yes they will need balancing.

Alun

Another reason for perished sidewalls is if the tyres are very old. UV light in sunlight affects the rubber and it hardens and becomes slightly brittle, hence the small cracks. Have a look at the DOT code on the sidewall and you should be able to determine the date of manufacture.

See http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=11

mikeym

Some people seem to be living inside a bubble because not everyone is wealthy and running a car is expensive.

Some people even have trouble scrapping money to pay for petrol.

But those pheasants shouldnt be allowed to drive on the road because they are unsafe.


Maybe the minority have no choice but to drive around in worn tyres.

pablo128

mikeym wrote: »

Some people seem to be living inside a bubble because not everyone is wealthy and running a car is expensive.

Some people even have trouble scrapping money to pay for petrol.

But those pheasants shouldnt be allowed to drive on the road because they are unsafe.


Maybe the minority have no choice but to drive around in worn tyres.

Hey I'm far from wealthy myself. I have to work 6 days most weeks to keep 2 cars on the road. But what I refuse to do is put myself, my partner, my child, or anyone else in danger by driving on bald tyres.

As it happens, I had to tax the 2 cars and insure one of them this month. I then spotted a nail in the missus's tyre. As the 2 front are wearing on the inside and low enough on thread anyway, I've to get 2 tyres and tracking on it tomorrow. I was going to wait till I got paid at the end of the month but no way am I paying a tenner to fix a tyre that will be replaced in 2 weeks.

Looks like I won't have the luxury of taking an odd saturday off work any time soon. But that's motoring for you.

The Rape of Lucretia

mikeym wrote: »

Some people seem to be living inside a bubble because not everyone is wealthy and running a car is expensive.

Some people even have trouble scrapping money to pay for petrol.

But those pheasants shouldnt be allowed to drive on the road because they are unsafe.


Maybe the minority have no choice but to drive around in worn tyres.

Is this a wind-up ?

That minority that cannot afford to drive on safe tyres indeed have no choice - they cannot drive at all.

Jesus.

joujoujou wrote: »

If one cannot afford to get new tyres, that actually means one cannot afford to have a car.Simple as that.

Well its not as simple as that........is it?

Jesus.

pablo128 wrote: »

Hey I'm far from wealthy myself. I have to work 6 days most weeks to keep 2 cars on the road. But what I refuse to do is put myself, my partner, my child, or anyone else in danger by driving on bald tyres.As it happens, I had to tax the 2 cars and insure one of them this month. I then spotted a nail in the missus's tyre. As the 2 front are wearing on the inside and low enough on thread anyway, I've to get 2 tyres and tracking on it tomorrow. I was going to wait till I got paid at the end of the month but no way am I paying a tenner to fix a tyre that will be replaced in 2 weeks.

Looks like I won't have the luxury of taking an odd saturday off work any time soon. But that's motoring for you.

No offence but that comes across like a rather servile attitude to the situation mate.

carzony

I do think motoring needs to become a little bit cheaper for everyone though. The cost of keeping a car on the road in Ireland is shocking when you add even the basics up. The tyre legislation is great but will never really be implemented by Gardai on a big scale, It'll all be forgotten about very soon..

joujoujou

Jesus. wrote: »

Well its not as simple as that........is it?

It is. Fullstop.

fancy pigeon

LIGHTNING wrote: »

So your OK with that excuse if they plow into the back of your car then because of bald tyres?

He's 100% right though, Pheasants are poor fliers at best and are one of the dopiest birds in Ireland, what would make them any better behind the wheel of a car?

Special Circumstances

fancy pigeon wrote: »

He's 100% right though, Pheasants are poor fliers at best and are one of the dopiest birds in Ireland, what would make them any better behind the wheel of a car?

Disaster.

uck51js9zml2yt

Did I hear correctly today that its now an offence to drive with bald tyres and points will be applied ( not that it never was an offence!)

jimgoose

fancy pigeon wrote: »

He's 100% right though, Pheasants are poor fliers at best and are one of the dopiest birds in Ireland, what would make them any better behind the wheel of a car?

I'm not convinced that giving pheasants cars will help the situation one bit. Aside from the fact that they're dumb, myopic so-and-sos the shotgun blasts will send glass everywhere. I'm with the Gummint on this one.

Tigger

LIGHTNING wrote: »

I put little faith in checkpoints these days. There is one regularly outside my apartments. The last time I saw the guards stop and wave on a car with only one working headlight, one bald tyre and it was on UK plates (somebody dodging VRT as I always see it around).

was breathalyzed two christmasses ago while the woman with two kids standing on the back seat was waved through
it was clearly a breath test checkpoint not a strap your kids in checkpoint

allthedoyles

It used to puzzle me that gardai never check tyres etc after an accident.
With trucks the 4 authorities are usually at checkpoints . rsa . sw . customs and gardai

shietpilot

allthedoyles wrote: »

It used to puzzle me that gardai never check tyres etc after an accident.
With trucks the 4 authorities are usually at checkpoints . rsa . sw . customs and gardai

Insurance assessors always check the tyres.

LostTazMan

LIGHTNING wrote: »

So your OK with that excuse if they plow into the back of your car then because of bald tyres?

No, but I would accept that excuse for driving an unsafe car and taking account of the additional care required. Someone who has to drive to work may sometimes have to choose between driving an unsafe car for a time or quitting work entirely. I was in that position a few years ago, and while I agree it is illegal I am not hypocritical enough to condemn someone else for what I also did under dire need.

Dire need does not mean choosing to spend money on alcohol, cigarettes or gambling however. To my mind it is acceptable to drive an unsafe car when the only other thing left to be cut is food and shelter for your family, providing that additional care is taken to compensate for the condition of the car.

Roger Mellie Man on the Telly

LostTazMan wrote: »

To my mind it is acceptable to drive an unsafe car

Ah come on!
Could you not have just not taxed the car if you were broke? At least there is no risk of injury with this.

The Rape of Lucretia

LostTazMan wrote: »

No, but I would accept that excuse for driving an unsafe car and taking account of the additional care required. Someone who has to drive to work may sometimes have to choose between driving an unsafe car for a time or quitting work entirely. I was in that position a few years ago, and while I agree it is illegal I am not hypocritical enough to condemn someone else for what I also did under dire need.

Dire need does not mean choosing to spend money on alcohol, cigarettes or gambling however. To my mind it is acceptable to drive an unsafe car when the only other thing left to be cut is food and shelter for your family, providing that additional care is taken to compensate for the condition of the car.

To my mind it is unacceptable that you drive a car at all.

LostTazMan

I couldn't tax it either. :-(

There was a 6 month stretch where I was financially screwed. I was a month later than I should have been replacing a shock, and about the same replacing a pair of tyres. I knew that the car wasn't right so I travelled to work early to avoid rush hour traffic, kept my speed down and my braking distance up. Then work picked up, my hours were increased and I could maintain the car properly again. We were living in the back end of nowhere, with no lift available. I couldn't afford the rent closer to work.

I'm sure you would have either quit the job, or walked to work. I chose not to.

Dord

IMO if you can't afford basic maintenance on your car then you need to either keep it off the road until you can afford it, declare it off the road if that will be longer, or sell it. No excuse. If the car you own costs to much to run then get a car that's cheaper to maintain.

LostTazMan

Dord, you are absolutely right. I was knowingly putting others at risk by what I was doing, regardless of how I managed the risk.

Given the same circumstances I would do the same thing again, knowing that it was wrong, and live with the consequences of my actions. Not everything is black and white, there are shades of grey too.

I agree that what I did was wrong, but I can't condemn anyone else for doing it.

Jesus.

The Rape of Lucretia wrote: »

To my mind it is unacceptable that you drive a car at all.

To my mind its more unacceptable that the cost of motoring in Ireland has spiralled out of control in recent years

jimgoose

Jesus. wrote: »

To my mind its more unacceptable that the cost of motoring in Ireland has spiralled out of control in recent years

Too true. I just paid €35 for a Bridgestone 225/55/R16 with ~12mm of tread on it. Disgray-ass, Jow. And my good friend the tyre man tells me his place was like a sort of zombie apocalypse yesterday. :pac:

Dord

Jesus. wrote: »

To my mind its more unacceptable that the cost of motoring in Ireland has spiralled out of control in recent years

True, but it's not going on maintenance nor fuel, but on insurance.

The Rape of Lucretia

Jesus. wrote: »

To my mind its more unacceptable that the cost of motoring in Ireland has spiralled out of control in recent years

Why - it isnt not anyones responsibilty to control it. It hasnt spiraled. It moves with market forces.

Jesus.

The Rape of Lucretia wrote: »

Why - it isnt not anyones responsibilty to control it. It hasnt spiraled. It moves with market forces.

So the Government should do nothing about rising premiums esp on older cars? The market always dictates?