Dubai: The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) recently launched a campaign aimed at ensuring tyre safety in the cars used to train students at driving institutes.
The campaign, organised by the Monitoring and Enforcement department of RTA, focuses on about 1,079 vehicles owned by the driving institutes, which are used to train students.
During the campaign, both driving instructors as well as students will be informed of the risks associated with using expired or defective tyres, particularly during summer, said Nabeel Yousuf Al Ali, Director of Monitoring and Enforcement Department.
Preventing major accidents from happening is the motive behind the initiative, he said.
According to the Ministry of Interior, last year as many as 31 people were killed and 243 were injured in 96 accidents caused by car tyre bursts in the UAE.
Procedures to verify soundness of tyres, factors contributing to the erosion of tyre quality and those which lead to tyre bursts such as increase or decrease in air pressure, overloading, speeding, storing tyres in humid areas, etc, are some of the topics explained during the campaign, Al Ali said.
He also called on driving instructors to carry out periodic tests of their vehicles’ tyres.
Meanwhile, the Emirates Authority for Standardisation and Metrology is expected to implement a new rule this month which will hold retailers responsible for fitting the required standard of tyres on vehicles. The regulations will include how long the tyres can be stored for, how long they can be used as well as using temperature ratings properly. These standards will then be reinforced at the time of car registration renewal.
