In support of the move by the government banning the importation and sale of regrooved and used tyres, Goodyear dealers nationwide have pledged not to offer such tyres or even display them on their premises.

The initiative, organized by Goodyear Malaysia, which took place today at a hotel in Shah Alam, Selangor, was carried out by the Goodyear Bumiputra Dealers Association which represented the Goodyear dealer network. It was witnessed by Goodyear Malaysia’s MD, Nasution Abdul Rahman and the Director-General of the Jabatan Keselamatan Jalan Raya (JKJR), Datuk Suret Singh.

Besides refraining from offering and stocking such tyres, the dealers will also help to educate motorists about the dangers of regrooved tyres and distribute materials supplied by the JKJR and Goodyear Malaysia.

Regrooved tyres, together with bald tyres, have been found to be responsible for some 15% of road accidents nationwide and as part of the effort to reduce road traffic fatalities, the ban was implemented at the beginning of this year. Laws are now in place that enable the relevant authorities to confiscate and charge any parties that are involved in making, distributing or selling regrooved tyres (as well as used tyres and snow tyres, the latter considered unsuitable for our conditions).

A regrooved tyre looks like a new one, especially when it has a coat of paint on it. Picture at right shows the TWI (circled) which has already 'bridged' two tread blocks, indicating that the tyre should no longer be used

In one example shown, it was evident that the tyre should have been discarded as the Tread Wear Indicator (TWI), a feature on all tyres, had already appeared and 'bridged’ the tread blocks. This is a visual indication that the tyre’s channel is at the minimum safe depth and will not effectively remove water from under the tyre. The result will be that the tyre will have very poor grip on wet roads and an accident will occur.

A new tyre has deep grooves which effectively evacuate water from under the tyre to maintain good grip (Goodyear Assurance shown)

According to Encik Nasution, the regrooved tyres are from other countries but there are also some which are made within Malaysia. The used tyres can be of any brand, even Goodyear’s, and it is evident that they are fairly old too – the example shown was a Goodyear Ventura which is no longer in production.

Encik Nasution said that many of the motorists who buy regrooved tyres are those with financial constraints and look for the cheapest tyres they can find. They may not knowingly buy regrooved tyres but are unaware of the dangers of such tyres as they have the same tread patterns as the original tyres and are even given a coat of black paint to make them look new.

For this reason, it is important that Goodyear dealers are pro-active in educating motorists so they will not put their lives at risk by buying regrooved tyres. Apart from that, the dealers also offer advice on how to look after tyres and the importance of checking the condition of the tyres, especially the pressures, regularly.

One of the simple ways of checking if the tyre’s tread depth is enough (apart from looking for the TWI) is to insert a 20-sen coin into the groove. If the word 'sen’ is clearly visible, then the tread depth is insufficient and the tyre should be changed to a new one. This test was conceived by Goodyear Malaysia many years ago.

At Goodyear Servitekar and Autocare outlets nationwide, motorists can get a 10-point safety check too. This covers not only the tyres but also the engine, brakes, battery, etc. They are urged to take advantage of this free service during the festive season when there is a lot of long-distance motoring

Visit www.goodyear.com.my to locate a Goodyear dealer in Malaysia

Recommended reading: Caring for your tyres

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