I was extremely pleased to receive a response from Bolton Council about its use of minibuses and other vehicles to transport some children to school and adults to day care facilities, and concerns over the use of tyres which are over ten years old.

The Council has confirmed that all drivers of council vehicles are required to check the condition of tyres at the start of their daily shifts and are responsible for reporting defects on tyres that may occur during the shift.  Mini buses undergo regular inspections which include tyre condition and these checks are recorded on a vehicle check sheet.  The Council also has an independent tyre contractor who checks tyres and arranges to rotate tyres and replace them as per individual condition.

The Council has expressed its intention to include not using tyres which are over ten years old as part of the vehicle specification in its next Special Educational Needs and Social Needs Transport Framework Agreement which is due next year.

You can read more about the ‘Tyred’ Campaign here: http://www.tyred.org.uk/ and my previous posts here and here.