Tyre Labelling
Tyre Labelling Legislation July 2012Over the last week, the tyre industry has started to roll-out a new customer information programme that will see all replacement tyres having a new label in place detailing key performance and safety information. From November 1st 2012, all new replacement tyres will be legally required to have the labelling in place. The tyre label details information on three key performance criteria including fuel efficiency class, wet grip class, and external rolling noise class.
‘Fuel efficiency class’ grades the tyre across 7 classes from A to G, with A being the most efficient and G being the least efficient – the difference between an A and G class tyre is that an A class tyre could reduce fuel consumption by up to 7.5% (depending on the vehicle, driving style and driving conditions)*. ‘Wet grip class’ again grades the tyre across 7 classes from A to G, measuring braking distances, with A being the shortest braking distance and G being the longest braking distance – the difference between an A and G class tyre is that an A class tyre could reduce braking distance by up to 30% (for a typical passenger car driving at 80km/h this could be up to 18m shorter braking distance)*. ‘External rolling noise class’ measures the noise value of the tyre in Decibels dB(A), quoting the Decibel level in numbers and showing a pictogram that has 3 bars, with 1 black bar indicating a low noise tyre (more than 3dB below the future European mandatory limit), 2 black bars indicating an average noise tyre (between the future limit value and 3dB below) and 3 black bars indicating a noisier tyre (above the future limit value). For passenger car & light commercial vehicle tyres, the information will be available on a sticker on the tyre or a label accompanying the tyre when it is delivered at point of sale and it is visible to the end-user. For all tyres, including heavy commercial vehicle tyres, the label information must also be included on supplier web pages, brochures, technical promotional documentation of the manufacturer, price lists, and on or with the tyre invoice given to the buyer, etc. Each tyre type and size will have to be graded. If tyres are not visible to customers at the point of sale, distributors must provide information on the fuel efficiency class, wet grip class and external rolling noise class. Customers should also be made aware that these 3 criteria, although important, are not the only performance parameters that they may wish to consider when selecting tyres. Further information on tyre labelling can be found at www.etrma.org
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