State Police (SP) are calling on individuals engaged in cargo shipments not to be irresponsible and not to economize on their vehicle tires. It is stipulated that the fitting of front axle wheels with retreaded tyres is prohibited for a lorry with a full mass exceeding 3,5 tonnes. The consequences of driving a vehicle so equipped may be fatal.
In practice, the national police have observed that truck drivers or vehicle owners, when economising on tyres, choose to equip them not with new ones but with renewed ones or already driving with an inappropriate tread. When a truck tyre bursts, the consequences can be much more severe than if the tyre bursts into a light vehicle.
Mischoice of tyres may lead to human death. Most commonly, in cases where a tyre has ruptured a truck, people who, by sheer accident, have hit the road for that particular lorry are severely traumatised or killed.
Unfortunately, yesterday, May 14, a tragic accident occurred on the road Inchualns - Valmiera - Estonia, where a truck driver lost his life. The consequences of this tragic accident are explained by the State Police in the investigation, but it is not excluded that a vehicle tyre has been killed. In order to avoid suffering from the road users or the driver himself, we call on the freight carriers to comply with the prescribed requirements: a bus and a lorry with a full mass exceeding 3,5 tonnes is prohibited from fitting front axle wheels with retreaded tyres.
It shall also be prohibited to participate in traffic with a vehicle of a full mass exceeding 3,5 tonnes and the wheels of the front steering axle (axle) shall be fitted with tyres for which the manufacturer or trade mark (name) or tread drawing differs, with the exception of double-wheel tyres.
Prepared by:
Lina Kalke
Senior Officer of the State Police
Public Relations Department,
Tel. 67075394, 29904081
E-mail: lina.kalke@vp.gov.lv