Motor Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1999

Condition and maintenance of tyres

32.—(1) Subject to paragraphs (2) to (4), a wheeled motor vehicle or trailer a wheel of which is fitted with a pneumatic tyre shall not be used on a road, if—

(a)the tyre is unsuitable having regard to the use to which the motor vehicle or trailer is being put or to the types of tyres fitted to its other wheels;

(b)the tyre is not so inflated as to make it fit for the use to which the motor vehicle or trailer is being put;

(c)the tyre has a cut in excess of 25 mm or 10% of the section width of the tyre, whichever is the greater, measured in any direction on the outside of the tyre and deep enough to reach the ply or cord;

(d)the tyre has any lump, bulge or tear caused by separation or partial failure of its structure;

(e)the tyre has any of the ply or cord exposed;

(f)the base of any groove which showed in the original tread pattern of the tyre is not clearly visible;

(g)either—

(i)the grooves of the tread pattern of the tyre do not have a depth of at least 1 mm throughout a continuous band measuring at least three-quarters of the breadth of the tread and round the entire outer circumference of the tyre; or

(ii)if the grooves of the original tread pattern of the tyre did not extend beyond three-quarters of the breadth of the tread, any groove which showed in the original tread pattern does not have a depth of at least 1mm; or

(h)the tyre is not maintained in such condition as to be fit for the use to which the vehicle or trailer is being put or has a defect which might in any way cause damage to the surface of the road or damage to persons on or in the vehicle or to other persons using the road.

(2) Paragraph (1) shall not operate to prohibit the use on a road of a motor vehicle or trailer by reason only of the fact that a wheel of the vehicle or trailer is fitted with a tyre which is deflated or not fully inflated and which has any of the defects described in sub-paragraph (c), (d) or (e) of said paragraph (1), if the tyre and the wheel to which it is fitted are so constructed as to make the tyre in that condition fit for the use to which the motor vehicle or trailer is being put and the outer sides of the wall of the tyre are so marked as to enable the tyre to be identified as having been constructed to comply with the requirements of this paragraph.

(3) Paragraph (1)(a) shall not operate to prohibit the use on a road of a passenger vehicle (not being a bus) by reason only of the fact that a wheel of the vehicle is fitted with a temporary use spare tyre, unless the vehicle is driven at a speed exceeding 50 mph.

(4) (a) Paragraph (1)(a) to (g) does not apply to—

(i)an agricultural motor vehicle that is not driven at more than 20 mph;

(ii)an agricultural trailer;

(iii)an agricultural trailed appliance;

(iv)a broken down vehicle or a vehicle proceeding to a place where it is to be broken up, being drawn, in either case, by a motor vehicle at a speed not exceeding 20 mph;

(b)paragraph (1)(f) and (g) does not apply to—

(i)a three wheeled motor cycle the unladen weight of which does not exceed 102 kg and which has a maximum speed of 12 mph; or

(ii)a pedestrian-controlled works truck;

(c)paragraph (1)(g) does not apply to a motor cycle with an engine capacity which does not exceed 50 cc;

(d)paragraph (1)(f) and (g) does not apply to the vehicles specified in sub-paragraph (e) but such vehicles shall comply with the requirements specified in sub-paragraph (f);

(e)the vehicles mentioned in sub-paragraph (d) are—

(i)passenger vehicles other than motor cycles constructed or adapted to carry no more than 8 seated passengers in addition to the driver;

(ii)goods vehicles with a maximum gross weight which does not exceed 3,500 kg; and

(iii)light trailers not falling within sub-paragraph (ii);

first used on or after 3rd January 1933;

(f)the requirements referred to in sub-paragraph (d) are that the grooves of the tread pattern of every tyre fitted to the wheels of a vehicle mentioned in sub-paragraph (e) shall be of a depth of at least 1.6 mm throughout a continuous band comprising the central three-quarters of the breadth of tread and round the entire outer circumference of the tyre.

(5) A re-cut pneumatic tyre shall not be fitted to any wheel of a motor vehicle or trailer if—

(a)its ply or cord has been cut or exposed by the re-cutting process; or

(b)it has been wholly or partially re-cut in a pattern other than the manufacturer’s re-cut tread pattern.

(6) (a) In this regulation—

“breadth of tread” means the breadth of that part of the tyre which can contact the road under normal conditions of use measured at 90 degrees to the peripheral line of the tread;

“original tread pattern” means in the case of—

a re-treaded tyre, the tread pattern of the tyre immediately after the tyre was re-treaded;

wholly re-cut tyre, the manufacturer’s re-cut tread pattern;

a partially re-cut tyre, on that part of the tyre which has been re-cut, the manufacturer’s re-cut tread pattern, and on the other part, the tread pattern of the tyre when new, and

any other tyre, the tread pattern of the tyre when the tyre was new;

“temporary use spare tyre” means a pneumatic tyre which is designed for use on a motor vehicle only—

“tie-bar” means any part of a tyre moulded in the tread pattern of the tyre for the purpose of bracing two or more features of such tread pattern;

“tread pattern” means the combination of plain surfaces and grooves extending across the breadth of the tread and round the entire outer circumference of the tyre but excludes any—

“tread wear indicator” means any bar, not being a tie-bar, projecting from the base of a groove of the tread pattern of a tyre and moulded between two or more features of the tread pattern of a tyre for the purpose of indicating the extent of the wear of such tread pattern.