Old tire blamed for causing fatal coach crash
ERJ staff report (LMH)
London – Three people returning from a UK music festival died after a coach tire that was 19 and a half years old blew out, according to a report by BBC News.
An inquest into the crash, which happened 10 September 2012, found that a tire on the coach was “abnormally old”, according to a tire expert at the inquest. The 52-seat coach crashed as it returned from the Bestival festival on the Isle of Wight, UK, last year. Two passengers and the driver were killed, the BBC said.
The BBC reported that the front nearside tire blew, causing the coach to veer to the left, mount the embankment, crash through a fence and into a tree. The inquest heard that many suffered serious injuries.
Tire expert David Price is reported to have said several of the six tires on the coach were old, with the tire that burst being "abnormally old". Another dated back to 2001 and the spare was 14 years old, the BBC reported. Price added that the tire had been falling apart internally for months. It was only half worn, so that you could be a spare or in storage for many years.
The tire expert said that manufacturers recommended that tires should not be fitted to cars if they are six years old and should be replaced if they are 10 years old. He added that this is not a legal requirement and it does not apply to coaches or lorries, the BBC said.
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Article from BBC News
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