Penalty points for tyre pressure!

Skatedude

https://www.independent.ie/life/motoring/car-news/motorists-warned-they-can-get-penalty-points-for-incorrect-tyre-pressure-36548067.html

While I agree that incorrect tyre pressures can lead to a badly handling car and can easily be a safety issue. How can they determine the "correct" tyre pressure for cars which dont have the factory fitted wheels and Tyres?

IE. I have 19" wheels and Tyres on my bmw E31 which are the correct offset and rolling radius, but obviously they will be at a higher pressure than the original 17" wheels due to lower profile Tyres.

Will the Guards be educated to use a Tyre calculator? database? or will the door sticker now be absolute rule.

It seems there will be confusion over this when they start enforcing it more, especially for modified cars, even if they have correctly fitted wheel upgrades.

biko

I don't like when they mix measurements

"In one of our surveys, we found that only one in 10 female motorists regularly check their tyres, while the figure for men was 23pc," he adds

cruizer101

Nothing in article to suggest they will start enforcing it more. Was introduced in April 2016 and used once since. I would imagine would only be used when tyres are clearly way under or over pressure, its not like they are going to start doing random pressure tests on side of road.

grogi

Skatedude wrote: »

IE. I have 19" wheels and Tyres on my bmw E31 which are the correct offset and rolling radius, but obviously they will be at a higher pressure than the original 17" wheels due to lower profile Tyres.

You should not have modified your car to have 19" if they are not type approved for this vehicle. I bet you haven't declared that modification to your insurer either...

Skatedude

cruizer101 wrote: »

Nothing in article to suggest they will start enforcing it more. Was introduced in April 2016 and used once since. I would imagine would only be used when tyres are clearly way under or over pressure, its not like they are going to start doing random pressure tests on side of road.

I agree, they would probably only enforce it if it was obvious that the tyres were not inflated properly. More curious on how they would calculate it if a car was not stock.
Hard to enforce in court if the guard cannot state what the correct pressure should be for a custom wheel. It's next to impossible to find a tyre pressure calculator for custom alloy's. (I've never found one)

Skatedude

grogi wrote: »

You should not have modified your car to have 19" if they are not type approved for this vehicle. I bet you haven't declared that modification to your insurer either...

The wheels and tyres are correct, they are a perfect match for rolling radius,(confirmed by BMW before buying), clearances etc and my insurance company knows about them and the new head unit.

dar83

grogi wrote: »

You should not have modified your car to have 19" if they are not type approved for this vehicle. I bet you haven't declared that modification to your insurer either...

Must be so disappointing to you when people confirm that not only do the wheels they have conform to manufacturers specification, but that they have also advised their insurer of them.

07Lapierre

Skatedude wrote: »

The wheels and tyres are correct, they are a perfect match for rolling radius,(confirmed by BMW before buying), clearances etc and my insurance company knows about them and the new head unit.

Just curious..Did your insurance company impose any penalties i.e. increased premium?

MetzgerMeister

grogi wrote: »

You should not have modified your car to have 19" if they are not type approved for this vehicle. I bet you haven't declared that modification to your insurer either...

Less of this kind of crap please

Harry Palmr

For Gawds sake, tyre pressure should be enforced through discretion - if it looks a bit flat on the road surface then take whatever measure is deemed appropriate - even if it's just watching the driver as he pumps the flipping thing. If it looks worn on the shoulder then make them change it.

How are run-flat cars treated if the tyre is clearly not inflated properly?

dr.fuzzenstein

cruizer101 wrote: »

Nothing in article to suggest they will start enforcing it more. Was introduced in April 2016 and used once since. I would imagine would only be used when tyres are clearly way under or over pressure, its not like they are going to start doing random pressure tests on side of road.

I would well believe it.
"Jaysis, dat tire dere looks a bit soft, dat will be a few points now"

grogi

Ignored Mod Instruction - 1 day ban.

Del2005

Skatedude wrote: »

Hard to enforce in court if the guard cannot state what the correct pressure should be for a custom wheel. It's next to impossible to find a tyre pressure calculator for custom alloy's. (I've never found one)

They'll just do what they did for speeding. Garda says that you were speeding and that's you convicted, no need for evidence or functioning speed detection devices.

Skatedude

07Lapierre wrote: »

Just curious..Did your insurance company impose any penalties i.e. increased premium?

Nope, they even sent out an assessor when I first got the car as it was on classic insurance, everything was documented.

I have to admit that i never knew you could get points for tyre pressure itself, I always thought that would be covered under using a car that is not in a roadworthy condition or such.

cnoc

How will a guard allow for the correct air pressure on hot tyres, i.e. after driving a distance?

punisher5112

I see some amount driving around with flat tyres.

Was behind a coach the other day and it had a rear offside flat and he had to have known the other tyre was bulging big time and the nearside wasn't great either.

07Lapierre

Skatedude wrote: »

Nope, they even sent out an assessor when I first got the car as it was on classic insurance, everything was documented.

I have to admit that i never knew you could get points for tyre pressure itself, I always thought that would be covered under using a car that is not in a roadworthy condition or such.

Interesting...lets face it, as Modifications go...wheels are not exactly a major Modification. Re-mapping, Engine performance mods etc. are a different story.

As for tyre pressures, I suspect if your stopped by a Guard at a checkpoint and there's a TPMS light on the dash...game over!

Skatedude

07Lapierre wrote: »

Interesting...lets face it, as Modifications go...wheels are not exactly a major Modification. Re-mapping, Engine performance mods etc. are a different story.

As for tyre pressures, I suspect if your stopped by a Guard at a checkpoint and there's a TPMS light on the dash...game over!

Why? they are not accurate and need to be reset once tripped, and I've never owned a car that had one. They can easily be falsely activated based on driving habits as they are based on rotational difference, so if you dont have a limited slip differential , then they can activate a false reading. they are only an indicator of a possible issue.

mikeecho

I'm not familiar with this penalty point ticket, but I presume it would only be used when someone is driving on a completely flat tyre, thus causing damage to the road.

I doubt you'll ever ever encounter a garda checking you see if your tyre pressure is out by a few psi.

I think people are over reacting

Henry Ford III

Interesting thread. I've no idea how anyone could know the optimal tyre pressure when different size and width tyres are fitted. How could you work it out? By eye maybe?

p.s. Overinflated tyres will cause poor grip due to a reduced contact area, so can be just as dangerous potentially as underinflated ones.

07Lapierre

Skatedude wrote: »

Why? they are not accurate and need to be reset once tripped, and I've never owned a car that had one. They can easily be falsely activated based on driving habits as they are based on rotational difference, so if you dont have a limited slip differential , then they can activate a false reading. they are only an indicator of a possible issue.

Agree, (The Smiley face should have indicated that what I was saying wasn't meant to be taken as gospel)a faulty/broken sensor will also activate the light...but the Garda won't know that. I suspect Most gardai would simply advise a driver to get it sorted. The garda would want to be a right so and so to do you for it!

grogi

Henry Ford III wrote: »

p.s. Overinflated tyres will cause poor grip due to a reduced contact area, so can be just as dangerous potentially as underinflated ones.

Over-inflated tyres do cause poor grip - but that's it. One can drive and can learn where the grip point is and learn not to go beyond, the same way a good tyre grips better than a much cheaper one.

Under-inflated tyres overhead and get damaged internally. You would never know if an under-inflated tyre survives the day if it hits a bigger stone or pothole... Exploding tyre is not anything pleasant...

When choosing between the evils, over-inflation seems like the smaller one...

Craftylee

I'd imagine the Guards will only enforce this if they want to throw the book at someone - aka stopped for something else and they notice the tyres look bad

Seth Brundle

Under what legislation is incorrect tyre pressures an offence?
What are the legally acceptable limits?
As cnoc previously mentioned, how long will they force drivers to wait until the tyre cools down to an acceptable testing temperature (and what is the acceptable testing temperature range for each tyre type)? How will gardai measure the tyre temperature to ensure that a test can be done?
Will gardai be given a list of all manufacturers recommended tyre pressures per vehicle and possible tyre sizes?
How will gardai test tyre pressures and with what equipment?
Will the calibration of the equipment be taken into account?
What happens if someone is using an alternative filler e.g. Nitrogen?
Will a legal liability fall onto petrol stations (especially those that charge for air) for not having accurate equipment?

It all sounds like a load of bollox tbh!

StereoSound

What if I develop a slow puncture and didn't know one of my tyres were underinflated? Its beyond your control until you notice it yourself.