Road Safety Week 2023: Continental underlines importance of wheel security for operators
- Number of wheel security issues continues to rise, calling for greater awareness
- Operators and technicians urged to exercise due diligence in inspections
Continental is putting wheel security at the top of its agenda for Road Safety Week 2023. As wheel security issues continues to be reported, Continental believes it is a continuing issue and therefore vital that commercial vehicle operators and technicians exercise due diligence in their practices.
In the interests of road safety, strong wheel security practices are a crucial factor for commercial vehicle operators and technicians to consider, as part of a regular service routine. Despite the potential severity of its consequences, the procedure may be overlooked. Wheel security issues can arise for several reasons, such as excessive wheel torquing, insufficient or incorrect lubrication of nuts and studs, or vehicles operating with wheels beyond their service life.
As part of their pre-use checks, drivers must carry out a visual inspection of the vehicle wheels for security. Some of the tell-tale signs that wheels are vulnerable to detachment include damaged nuts, studs or wheels, and excessive corrosion to the wheel faces or incorrect lubrication and retorque procedures It’s also important that wheels are retorqued to the correct requirements. To minimise the likelihood of wheel security issues occurring, operators and technicians should adhere primarily to the vehicle manufacturers specific recommendations or in the absence of such instructions to the British standard for wheel security, AU 50-2.7b.
Steve Howat, General Manager – Technical Services at Continental Tyres, explains: “Wheel detachment from vehicles, particularly heavy commercial vehicles, has long been a cause for concern for operators – and it isn’t going away. We continue to see cases reported, so it’s important that operators and technicians know how to prevent them. As part of Road Safety Week 2023, we’re spreading awareness of wheel security, to help ensure the safety of all road users.”
To help operators and technicians better understand the topic, Continental, through its ContiAcademy training programme, offers bespoke courses on wheel security and a comprehensive video found on our website.
For more information, visit: https://www.continental-tyres.co.uk/b2b/truck/tyre-awareness/
