Accidents due to tyre bursts serious issue: Govt

Transport ministry wants revision of quality norms

The Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has raised the question mark on the quality of tyres produced in India after frequent accidents attributed to tyre bursts.

“Incidents of cars having advanced features meeting with accidents due to tyre bursts on good condition road, is worrisome. The Road Transport Ministry has decided to write to the Bureau of Indian Standard (BIS) asking it to modify the existing specification of tyres produced in India to make it on par with global standard,” Road Transport Secretary Vijay Chhibber told Deccan Herald.

The Road Ministry had earlier also expressed concern over quality of tyre produced in India. However, since 2014, the Ministry has decided to compile separate column in its annual report mentioning accidents due to tyre bursts.

In 2014, total 9,748 accidents reported due to tyre busts while 3,371 persons killed and 9,081 persons have been injured.

“As the BIS, standard specification body under the Union Ministry of Consumer Affairs, certify tyres and tubes, we will write to them about our concerns by mentioning accidents due to tyre bursts in 2014,” he said, adding that the matter would also be taken to Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion as well as Heavy Industries which deals with tyre manufacturers, he said.

Tyre specs revision
With the Union Road Ministry working on constructing national highways with cement concrete, the BIS have to revise its specification on tyre accordingly, he said.

He also pointed out that several accidents on Yamuna Express that connects Delhi with Agra were mainly due to tyre bursts.

With the increasing road fatalities in the country, the government is working to reduce accidents.

In 2014, 1.39 lakh people were killed in road accidents against 1.37 lakh in 2013. “If any accident occurred due to tyre bursts, then tyre makers should be held responsible,” said S P Singh, senior fellow of a transport research body, the Indian Foundation of Transport Research and Training (IFTRT).

He said IFTRT had recently written to the Consumer Affairs Ministry, seeking inclusion of a tyre recall mechanism in the new road safety bill proposed by the Union Ministry of Transport.
 
“To protect consumers, the limits for rolling resistance of tyres in India for mandatory tyre recall mechanism should be brought in the country,” he said.

The US, Europe, Japan, South Korea and China have mandatory tyre recall mechanisms if any fault is found in tyres, whereas India does not have any such rule yet, he added.