The danger of using second-hand tyres on motor vehicles

Dec 25, 2020 Letters

DEAR EDITOR,

In a feature article on used tyres by columnist FREDDIE KISSOON which appeared in KN on Dec. 17, 2020, he related an incident while cruising on the Seawall Road with his car. An observant driver stopped him and drew his attention to his car’s defective two front tyres and suggested he changed them immediately as they pose a safety risk. In consternation, Freddie mused,” that all he knew about a car was how to drive it”.
Shortly thereafter he apparently bought two used tyres and expressed the opinion that they were in excellent condition and very workable. He claimed he paid a bargain basement price of G$7,000 for them but had David Granger, the former President of Guyana and Winston Jordan his Finance Minister still in office, he would have had to pay five times more.
Based on price and other considerations of used tyres, Freddie concluded that former President Granger and his Finance Minister Jordan didn’t understand how the industrial world functioned since the cultural outlook and means of the people living in that region allowed them to change their cars every three to four years and the tyres on them every two to three years. Further, the roads in the industrial world vis-‘a-vis those in the developing region are in immaculate condition.
In reality these statements made by Freddie are misleading and false. The people living in the industrialized world do not as a matter of policy or culture change their vehicles every three to four years unless they are leased. If the vehicles are owned, many are usually kept for more than eight years. I drive a Toyota Camry in NY which is over 14 years old while my son who lives in Los Angeles drives an Avalon which is over 20 years old with over 200,000 miles on the odometer. There are many people living in Canada and the USA which are industrialized countries who own and drive vehicles over eight years old.
Condition of the roads in the developed countries is another matter. The roads in Brooklyn, NY an industrialized region, particularly at the start of the spring season is not that much better than the roads in Bel Air Park or Queenstown. Guyanese living in Queens and Brooklyn, boroughs in the City of New York can attest to this.
The outgoing PNC/AFC Govt. should be given credit for banning the importation of used tyres in Guyana which has contributed to the safety of all road users. Used tyres are sold with many defects which are not visible to the naked eye. These include but are not limited to damaged belts and cords, tread separation, cracking and manufacturing defects. Synthetic rubber compounds and reinforcements used to manufacture tyres deteriorate with age and many manufacturers recommend replacing tyres more than six years old. (Freddie should check the dates of manufacture of the used tyres he bought as these are stamped on their side walls).
The former PNC/AFC Govt. may not have carried out the necessary research locally to support their claim that used tyres on vehicles plying the Guyanese roads were posing a danger to all road users, but it had sufficient evidence from the developed world to show that this was so. Reports published by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) of the USA and similar institutions in other countries have attested to this. Therefore, Freddie and others should not be driving motor vehicles which are poorly maintained and with defective second-hand tyres since their continual usage is a danger not only to the drivers and their passengers but other road users as well. After all, a motor vehicle should not be a symbol status for those who could ill afford it, but a means to provide needed transportation for those with the resources to have one and can maintain it to generally accepted standards.
Finally, Freddie claims that when a Government proclaims a policy it should be backed by research and this should have been done with respect to the banning of used tyres. Based on this premise it is concomitant this should have been applied to the Covid-19 virus now sweeping the country. However, the evidence suggests that although the Government has not conducted any worthwhile research on this virus it is nevertheless doing all it can from the information it has available from others to protect Guyanese from its infection and spread.
The contributors of KN enjoy reading its articles which are written by knowledgeable and thoughtful columnists who enlighten them with the facts and not with misinformation and innuendos.

Yours truly,
Charles Sohan

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