puncture on M20

[edbostan]

Last Thursday week got puncture on rear tyre on the way to chunnel tunnel. Not much fun standing on the hard shoulder of M20 fully loaded at 7am. Called AA who took u

s to Maidstone for replacement tyre and he says all cars should have spare tyres. Experiencing a flat tyre there is no way of determining by visual inspection if the tyre has a nail puncture or a gaping split. The can of gunk is a waste of time and it should be mandatory for all cars to carry a spare as it is a safety issue.

Edited 2 April, 2017 by edbostan

[Rooted]

He should tell his employer to tell the DfT / DVSA and the Minister for Transport and the EU Commissioners etc as they allowed the Co2 g/km kidology 

and weight saving of cars in EU Testing. Kerb Weight cheating.

 

So after BREXIT Chris Grayling MP can get Theresa to tell all UK Car Manufacturers to get in a Spare Tyre and forget what EU Type Approval allows, 

and if Foreign cars crossing into the UK have no spare, hi-viz vests in the car, Spare Bulbs etc turn them around and send them back across the channel.

[KenONeill]

@Awayoffski - A spare tyre is not mandatory in the UK, and hasn't been since at least the 1970s. I remember my Dad getting a car through an MoT by taking the spare out.

[Rooted]

We know.  Point of the OP really.

We are in the UK unless we are not.  But the BREXIT Government will rule in another 2 years.

 

Were they mandatory in the 1970's or before?

  What changed that then, was it when the UK joined the EEC in 1973, or some UK MOT change where on the day a MOT was carried out you needed one in, or just they never were mandatory as i never heard of Police or the Ministry of Transport as was (later VOSA) stopping a car and asking to open the boot to check a Spare Tyre was being carried. 

 

I was an Apprentice Mechanic in the 1970's, i remember lots, including spares being checked to see they had a tread.

When was your Dad removing spare tyres for the car to get a MOT?

Edited 4 April, 2017 by Awayoffski

[KenONeill]

@Awayoffski 1970s as it happens, at the advice of the MoT tester "a spare isn't mandatory, and if it's not there I can't fail it for being worn, so you'll can get your test, and a new tyre on Saturday like you want" (for reasons, the test was being done near my Dad's work, not where we lived).

[Rooted]

So when was it mandatory is the question i am asking you and when did it stop being?

[KenONeill]

@Awayoffski I don't see where I say that it was? I do see where you seem to imply that you believe that it was until after we joined the EEC, and I'm saying that the requirement was dropped earlier than that if it ever existed.

[Rooted]

"& hasn't been since at least the 1970's"  was your posting,

 seemed to imply that at sometime they were mandatory according to you.

Must have got lost in translation...

 

The point of my post you commented on was that spare wheels are not required, as the AA operative knows well, as do the DVSA, 

but that could maybe and should maybe be changed by a UK Government in the future.

[eccleshill]

A spare tyre has never been mandatory. If you have one and the tyre is not road legal then you receive an advisory not a fail.

See MOT tester's manual section 4.1 first paragraph 

 

http://www.ukmot.com/manual/4.1/Tread-Pattern-Breadth-and-Depth#MOTMANUAL

[YS53]

I certainly would not like to have any arguments about spare tyres - but back in the 'good ole days' it seemed to be the general consensus that if a spare tyre was in the car boot then it had to be 'legal' - ie with legal tread,so if your spare was getting a little bald it was fairly normal to remove it 'just in case'.

The tester was King in those days (still is ) and without the internet our info came from many sources LOL - inc of course down the Pub.

 

When were 'advisories' indroduced ? I do not remember them from my early driving days but TBH my memory is patchy from the 70's

[gocro]

When we bought our Roomster in 2013 it was pre-owned and had no spare, I bought a full size spare, insert and tool kit off E-bay for around £140. When I did get a puncture it was at home but at least i had the convenience of dropping the wheel off on the way to work and collecting it on the way home.

We're getting a 2016 Yeti this week also with no spare so I'll be taking the Roomster one out and selling it with the tools and the insert on E-bay to part fund the new spare I will have to buy for the Yeti.