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NEWS
TIA Board Elects Freda Pratt- Boyer to Board Secretary Post
poorly inflated tyres make the car difficult to control in a critical situation. The risk of punctures also increases.
The purpose of the tyre inspection campaign is to increase the motorists' awareness of the significance of tread depth with respect to traffic safety, and the importance of proper inflation pressure for the environment, traffic safety, and for personal finances.
The tyre inspection campaign is a joint effort between the Danish National Police, FDM (Federation of Danish Motorists), Danish Technological Institute, the Tyre
Importers Association, the Association for Retread Manufacturers and the Association for Tyre Distributors, which are all working together in the Danish Council for Tyre Safety.
The council is a non-profit brand- neutral organisation with the aim to raise motorists' and public bodies' awareness of tyre related safety aspects. It is also the objective to spread awareness of regulations and legislation, thereby contributing to improving road safety.
The Danish Council for Tyre Safety was founded in 1991.
At its biannual Board of Directors meeting held June 25 - 27, the Tire Industry Association (TIA), one of the leading global authorities on tyres, elected Freda Pratt-Boyer, senior auditor of Purcell Tire and Rubber Company, as its new board secretary. Beginning on November 1, 2012 Freda Pratt- Boyer will begin her one-year term as secretary. After that year, she will proceed as vice president, then president, then past president; all of these positions are for one-year terms.
Freda Pratt-Boyer began her career in the tyre industry in 1972 with Purcell Tire and
Rubber Company. Over the course of her career, Freda has worked in retail, commercial, retread plant, and wholesale distribution centres in managerial positions. Freda has served as operations manager, region manager, and is currently senior auditor for the company. These years of service have given her the opportunity to study, learn, and become a leader in the tyre industry.
TIA President, Larry Brandt, said "Freda's depth and breadth of experience in the industry will continue to be
of great benefit to the board, the association and most importantly, the industry as a whole."
Her years of service are proof of Freda's determination serve to highlight her ability to promote and advance the standards of the tyre industry. She is a decisive manager who vigorously promotes education, training, and customer service to all levels of the tyre industry. Freda is currently Vice President elect for the MTIA (Missouri Tire Industry Association) and is currently serving her fourth year on the TIA Board of Directors.
Florida County Retreads to Save Money
Denmark Introduces Random Tyre Inspections
Volusia County School
District, Florida, has
been defending its
decision to retread its
school bus tyres instead
of buying new ones.
School buses are now at
the top of the list of
ideas for cutting the
school district budget.
District leaders are even
getting so detailed they
are looking at how much is spent on school bus tyres.
"We're going to see a 21 per cent increase in tyre cost in October, so we have to take some measures to reduce that cost," said Director of Student Transportation Services Greg Akin.
The district has been doing it
for years, but now it will be doing it more often. The cost of a retread is around $90 compared to a new tyre that costs more than $200.
This school year, Akin said it saved $30,000 by using retreads. While it isn't that much, it is more than what some teachers make.
The Orange County School District also uses the cost cutting method of retreading. Orange County schools reported buying new tyres would have cost the district $300,000 last year if it wasn't for retreads.
The Volusia County School District said school bus drivers are required to inspect tyres twice a day, then they get a detailed inspection by a technician once a month.
Tyres more than six years old are taken off the buses.
In May 2012 random tyre inspections were carried out in the Copenhagen area, the first time this kind of a tyre inspection campaign had been carried out in Denmark.
The police conducted ordinary traffic inspections, in which the driver had to present her/his driving license and the general condition of the car checked. When this had been completed, the driver was offered the opportunity of having the car's tyres inspected. The tyre inspections were voluntary and operate as follows;
While tyre specialists check the inflation pressure and tread depth of the tyres, the driver is asked a few questions about her/his awareness of the tyre condition. When the tyre inspection has been completed, the driver is given a tread depth measuring
device, a form listing the measured tread depth and inflation pressure of the car's tyres, and an information flyer. The tread depths and inflation pressures that are measured during the random inspections are recorded. The results form the basis of a tyre inspection report. During random tyre inspections in previous years in Sweden, every third car had at least one badly worn tyre (3 mm of tread or less). The remarkable thing was that only one driver in ten was aware that her/his car had one or more badly worn tyres. Previous results also indicated that two of three drivers had not checked inflation pressure during the past month or did not know when this had been done most recently. Under- inflation causes the tyres to wear prematurely and increases fuel consumption. Furthermore,
Could Shearography Become Redundant?
10 Retreading Business
Shearography has lifted the quality of the retreaded tyre in recent years. No client with any professional credibility would buy retreads that had not been subjected to shearography testing at the start of the retread process. No retreader worth his salt would claim high quality products without using shearography. Yet, it may well have a competitor that makes it look like old technology.
United Analytics Corporation in California has developed what it calls an Affordable Tire
Delamination Detection process, which it claims can be inserted into the inspection line at the nailhole detection process.
Larry Tichauer of United Analitics contacted Harvey Brodsky at the RTA about the new technology claiming that it would save money and space, and was portable so could be used in the field to check tyres still on vehicles for safety checks. Harvey arranged for a test of the prototype equipment at a local retreader and in typical American style, the product was so good that