New EU Tyre Ruling Promises Tyres That Are Safer & Last Longer

A new law introduced by the EU mandates that tyres must offer the same wet weather performance even when worn.

The European Union (EU) has introduced a new ruling regarding vehicle tyres which aims at ensuring longer tyre life and road safety in general. According to this new regulation, known as the R117-04, tyres must offer the same wet weather performance even if they have worn to the legal minimum.

This new ruling dictates that used tyres must have the same wet grip performance like the new one, even if they are worn at their legal minimum of 1.6 MM.

Effective July 1, 2024, this new law dictates that tyres that have worn to their legal minimum of 1.6 MM must offer the same wet grip performance as the new ones. To gauge the wet grip performance of these tyres, the EU will try to brake a vehicle speeding from 80 KM/H to 20 KM/H on a wet surface. Prior to this ruling, such a test was only conducted on new tyres.

Besides ensuring a longer tyre lifespan and preventing road incidents, this regulation also aims to reduce the number of motorists who discard their tyres prematurely, thus minimising the negative environmental effect of tyre production.

Among the European tyre brands that have expressed their support for this new ruling was Michelin, with the world’s largest tyre manufacturer saying that motorists in the EU can save up to €7 billion (RM35 billion approximately) in premature tyre replacements.

The French tyre maker also stated that in its own internal study, 50% of car tyres are currently replaced before reaching a tread depth of 3 MM, which is well above the legal minimum enacted by this new law. Ultimately, Michelin estimates that this new ruling could reduce tyre consumption in Europe by 128 million units, lowering the CO2 emissions from tyre production by up to 6.6 million metric tonnes.

If such a ruling were to be adopted on a global scale, Michelin said that it could save up to 400 million tyres annually, which translates to a reduction of CO2 emissions of up to 35 million metric tonnes – equivalent to six months of New York City’s emissions.

As of now, this new regulation is only being implemented in EU countries, while other regions like Australia have expressed their interest in adopting the same legal framework used in the EU. In Malaysia, on the other hand, no response was given by any related parties pertaining to the nation’s interests in adopting this tyre regulation.

So folks, what do you think of this new tyre regulation implemented by the EU? Could the same rule be applied to our country to prevent more road-related accidents and help Malaysians save up on their tyre change? As always, don’t forget to leave your thoughts in the comments down below...