An incident that happened early this month propelled us into writing this story so as to warn other travellers against making such mistakes.

Mummy Uju, as she is fondly called by her friends, was preparing to travel to the East for the burial of her mother-in-law, slated for last week. Her car had been parked for up to three years. From the looks of it, it looked good, but nobody had used it for years.

Two weeks into the event, Mummy Uju decided to embark on a journey of about eight hours in the vehicle. She went to the Ikeja Local Government Area to update her vehicle papers. Having done that, she approached a car mechanic to fix what she termed minor things in the vehicle.

When her neighbour heard she was going to put a vehicle that had been parked for three years on the highway, he advised her against it, urging her to drive the vehicle around first for weeks before embarking on the long journey.

The neighbour, still trying to dissuade her, asked her about the state of the tyres, and she proudly told him they were new tyres she acquired three years ago. “The four tyres are brand new. They have never been driven or even touched the ground because even though they are fixed on the vehicle, I made sure they rested on wooden planks.”

The enlightened neighbour told her it was very risky to travel with such tyres, however, Mummy Uju engaged a driver who was more interested in the money he would be paid to drive her and her four children to Aba Ngwa in Abia State.

Before the vehicle got to Shagamu, one of the front tyres burst. By the time they got to Ore in Ondo State, the remaining three tyres burst. Of course, the vehicle did not even make it to Edo State on that day because of other issues with the car.

Whether a tyre has been driven or not, whether it has been on the store shelf or not, it is still rubber, and once it reaches its expiry date, it will expire.

Many people will be embarking on long journeys this season to celebrate Christmas and other events with loved ones. Please do not allow Mummy Uju’s experience to be your lot. She was lucky; no life was lost.

Research conducted on road traffic crashes shows that the three major causes of road crashes are: human factor, mechanical factor and environmental factor. The mechanical factor occurs due to irregular and poor maintenance of vehicles, leading to crashes while the vehicle is in motion.

In essence, crashes due to mechanical factors have to do with the malfunction of the vehicle, which eventually leads to loss of control of the vehicle and invariably to road traffic crashes, especially from tyre bursts, which account for about 10% of road crashes.

The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) says tyres are the only link between the vehicle and the road. They are in control of your steering, braking, acceleration and absorbing all the bumps that the road may throw at the driver. Hence, there is a need for them to be regularly checked.

Therefore, there is a need to get acquainted with tyre markings and to know how to properly check tyre air pressure to eliminate the dangers of driving with deflated, overinflated, worn-out, or damaged tyres.

Bisi Kazeem, an Assistant Corps Marshal (ACM), in one of his media chats said: “That is why the Corps advises every vehicle owner to patronise only genuine tyres, ensuring that the tyres in their vehicles are in good working condition.

“The fact is that most drivers do not only use fake tyres but use them until they are completely worn out before they change them. That reduces the traction, which most often leads to crashes, especially during the rainy season as a result of slippery surfaces.”

He said that the FRSC had collaborated with the Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and National Automobile Design and Development Council (NADDC) to get rid of fake and substandard tyres capable of causing road crashes.

Kazeem said that the collaboration became necessary since it was not within the FRSC mandate to go to sellers and check the standards of all tyres.

According to him, the collaboration and eventual clampdown on dealers will put an end to the importation and sale of fake tyres in the country.

He said that the FRSC had religiously sustained the tempo of advocacy and other enlightenment approaches, including conducting motor park rallies, to create the necessary awareness.

He said that tyres were supposed to last for only four years from the day of manufacture, saying that was why the FRSC advised motorists to always check the date of manufacture before purchase.

According to him, you will see an inscription reading DOT alongside four numbers indicating the week and year of manufacture of that tyre.

“For example, DOT 1320 means the tyre was manufactured in the 13th week of the year 2020.

“When you see that, note that the first 2 numbers indicate the week of manufacture, while the last 2 represent the year in which the tyre was produced.

“The expiration date, therefore, is four years after the year written on the tyre,” he said.

According to FRSC, 772 out of the 9000 Road Traffic Accidents (RTCs) recorded across the country were caused by burst tyres, meaning that nine out of every 100 accidents occur due to a tyre problem.

The use of fake and expired tyres was responsible for more than 5,000 road traffic crashes (RTCs) that occurred in the last five years, the FRSC disclosed.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) of the United States, one of the most important aspects of a vehicle that keeps the driver safe is the tyre. When these have been created with defects, they may endanger the life of the vehicle operator.

For fleet operators, it is important to ensure that the tyres on logistics vehicles are not worn or underinflated. Fleet drivers travel approximately 25,000 kilometres a year, as compared with non-professional drivers who travel an estimated 12,000 kilometres annually. So, the likelihood of wear and tear on commercial tyres is greater.

Stressing that, many tyres have passed their expiration date for use because they sit on shelves long after they should have been put to use. This means even when purchased as new, they are old. The rubber may also be weak and cause it to burst at high speeds, or a certain amount of pressure through hard braking is involved. The rubber may dry out and crack, causing the incident.

Experts at the NHTSA further said there are many causes of a tyre bursting, particularly from a pothole or bad spots on the road, causing a cut or a dent on the tyre, leading to rapid loss of air inside the tubes. Smaller punctures in the wheel may cause slow air escapes, causing failure of pressure. With an overload, the tyre could give way, resulting in a burst.

It is important to check the pressure and tread before going at high speeds to avoid a potentially disastrous event from occurring.

The association also noted that some of the tyres exported to some African countries are not tropicalised. These are tyres that are designed and manufactured for cold regions, imported for use in warm regions, exposing users to expansion and bursting due to heat/weather pressure.

Such tyres expand during usage due to heat and thermal expansion, resulting in excessive pressure, bursting, accident and death.

Tyres expire after 4years or after travelling about 80,000km. Whether it has been sitting on the shelf or kept inside without being in use, it expires four years after manufacturing so do not travel with such tyres in your vehicle.