New Emission Standards For Brakes & Tyres
Friday, 1. June 2018
If you are an F1 fan, as I am, you regularly hear of ‘marbles’ on the race track making driving difficult if you move off the driving line and into the ‘marbles’. If this has left you confused the marbles aren’t little glass balls they are particles of rubber from the tyres as they wear down.
Race tyres are made of much softer rubber than the tyres that you have fitted to your car but our normal road tyres, when they wear down, emit ‘marbles’ in the form of fine particles of rubber adding to the particulates in the air. The same happens when you brake.
Tiny particles are released as the pads wear down, not as dangerous as when the pads were made of asbestos but still bad for the environment. As a result of the particles still at fairly high levels the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has announced in its latest Clean Air Strategy that it will be looking into these particulate emissions with a view to working with International Bodies to come up with some new standards for tyres and brakes.
The aim will be to reduce the toxic, non-exhaust emissions, termed as micro-plastics, that are currently polluting the air and water. The study also called for action against older, heavily polluting diesel vehicles with proposed charges to be introduced in all major towns and cities. Frankly, anything that improves air quality is OK by me but we still need clearer guidelines from the Government regarding the dangers of diesel vs petrol – it is long overdue. By Graham Hill
