10/14/2008 EU prepares far-reaching regulations for tyres

Hanover/ Jeversen, October 13, 2008. According to German road traffic regulations, since 2006 all cars driving in Germany in typically wintry road conditions must be fitted with winter tyres.

And there are even more changes facing Germany's motorists: The EU Commission plans to introduce a label for tyre braking performance and rolling resistance in 2012, and to further tighten existing noise limits. Experts warn of possible technical impacts as a result of the new regulations: Aquaplaning risk, in particular, could rise again with the implementation of stricter noise regulations owing to the conflicting design objectives in tyre development; braking distances on wet roads, snow or ice could increase again. As Europe’s leading tyre manufacturer, Continental therefore warns of possible risks for road users. It would be more helpful, said the company, to pursue mandatory introduction of ESC, tyre pressure monitoring and lane departure warning systems as a contribution to greater road safety and pollution reduction.

Here you can download the press release as a Word-file (65 KB).

The development of modern tyres, irrespective of whether the tyres are for a small car or a high-performance sports car, is always a compromise for which the best possible solution must be found. A different effect on product performance is produced depending on which “screw” is turned in the design concept. If development is focused strongly on optimizing one particular feature, this always means that the other tyre performance qualities are impacted.

EU: Labelling scheme for braking performance and rolling resistance planned for 2012

The EU Commission intends to submit a new proposal to the European Parliament this year for the stipulation of new tyre approval regulations from 2012. Experts had already criticised the one-sided approach of specifying a low rolling resistance after the Commission had presented its first draft for the new regulations.

In Germany, for example, about 12 per cent of the CO₂ emissions are attributable to passenger cars (ADAC motorwelt 8/2008), with the tyres accounting for one fifth of that figure, which is equivalent to a good two per cent of the overall CO₂ emissions. A ten per cent reduction of rolling resistance would, on the other hand, reduce the car’s emissions by about two per cent. However, the wet braking distance of a car would be increased by about 8 metres (wet braking at 100 km/h) due to the one-sided approach to the tyre’s design.

“The EU Commission wants to introduce a tyre labelling scheme for wet braking and rolling resistance to address both safety and environmental aspects. This will, in any case, provide more useful information than having just the rolling resistance evaluated which was also considered at one point", explained Alexander Lührs, Continental’s press spokesman. Certain categories for different braking distances should be introduced, for example very short braking distances, medium or marginally sufficient braking distances. A safe and lower-consumption alternative for the consumer would then be a tyre combining very short braking distances with a low rolling resistance.

With this initiative, the Commission is at the same time supporting the European Road Safety Charter which has set itself the high goal of halving the number of people killed in road accidents in the EU to 25,000 by 2010. “We’ve signed the Charter as the Continental Corporation, and we’re working intensively towards achieving that goal”, said Lührs. “It fits in well that the Commission is also thinking about mandatory ESC, lane departure warning and tyre pressure monitoring technologies from the year 2012.”

“Driving with incorrect inflation pressure, something an alarmingly high 64 per cent of motorists in Europe do, can significantly affect the car’s handling characteristics, especially on road bends”, cautions Lührs. “With the tyres inflated correctly, on the other hand, the driver has optimum cornering control, shorter braking distances and – thanks to the low rolling resistance – also improved fuel economy and hence fewer toxic emissions.” In Germany alone, 2007 saw over 1,200 accidents involving casualties as a result of the tyres (source: Federal Bureau for Statistics). Slow loss of inflation pressure is one of the main causes of tyre failure, something that can easily be prevented by fitting a tyre pressure monitoring system with an indicator to warn of underinflation.

Higher weighting of safety more preferable to lowering noise limit values

Experts see the proposed further reduction of tyre/road noise in a more sceptical light. Hardly any effect would be had by changing the current directive, particularly in the densely populated areas of Germany. “The lion’s share of noise in cities comes from patchwork road surfaces instead of smooth asphalt, clanking manhole covers, and braking and driveaway noise”, explains Lührs. Although cobblestones are popular for residential roads, they are an annoyance for the residents when traffic drives over them – and they are dangerous: They become extremely slippery in wet or slushy conditions, even for vehicles travelling at a mere 30 km/h, significantly increasing the stopping distance and posing a hazard to cyclists and pedestrians. “If we want to reduce noise levels in the cities, we also have to look at low-noise road surfacing”, demands Lührs. “Putting the responsibility on the tyres can only be part of the approach to the problem.” After all, the quietest tyre is a slick – but to give the tyre its basic traction properties we have to add tread segments, water dispersing channels to prevent aquaplaning, and sipes for more grip in winter. “Believing that the tyre industry could offer much quieter products without adverse effects on safety is in contradiction to today’s knowledge of interrelated factors and conflicts of objectives.” No motorist is going to be able to change his tyres each day to suit prevailing weather conditons – dry, rainy or wintry – like they do in Formula One racing. “Tyres have to be all-rounders”, he explains. “Too much emphasis on one single criterion, and this automatically leads to negative effects on the other tyre qualities.“ The same applies to tyre/road noise as well. It would be more desirable to have a higher weighting on safety characteristics instead – and this would be more in keeping with the European Road Safety Charter.

Based on the company’s experience of putting legislative measures into effect in Germany, for example legislation in 2006 covering mandatory fitment of winter tyres depending on the situation, Continental also highlights another extremely practical point: It is always helpful when introducing new regulations to define the consequences facing manufacturers and/or dealers who sell products that do not comply with the set standards. In some cases it is necessary to create organisations that inflict penalties for infringing the regulations and ultimately ban the sub-standard products from the market. Only then will all market actors be incentivised to adhere to the regulations. Since the individual EU countries are normally responsible for putting EU regulations into effect on a national scale, it is probably hard to expect a Europe-wide standard practice that is also easily understood by the motorists.

The tyre divisions are an official sponsor of the FIFA World Cup 2010™ in South Africa. Further information is available at www.ContiSoccerWorld.de.