Definition of the Problem

Normally, the wheel rim of a motor car, minibus-taxi, commercial vehicle, caravan, truck or bus is designed to have a shaped recess ('well') inside, for its full circumference. It is an integral and necessary design feature with the simple purpose of enabling the fitting or removal of the tyre onto or from the rim. Without this 'well' it is impossible to fit or remove a tyre because the circumference of the tyre bead is smaller than that of the rim. To fit a tyre an operator has to manoeuvre one part of the bead into the well to allow the opposite part to slip over the flange. Then, the rest of the bead can be forced gradually over the flange until the whole bead is secured on the inside of both flanges.

When inflated, internal air pressure pushes the tyre side walls (and bead) outwards against the flanges, thereby keeping the tyre bead in place in the seats of the wheel rim. If the tyre deflates, as it would during a severe tyre burst or slow puncture, insufficient pressure to maintain the bead against the seats of the rims will result, causing them to become free to move on the rim and back into the well. Once this occurs the tyre becomes dislodged, leaves the rim, and may cause loss of control. The rim also comes into contact with the road surface, making it impossible to control the vehicle because it then acts as a plough shear, mostly causing the vehicle to overturn or swerve uncontrollably.

Rim and tyre manufacturers have made many attempts to prevent this problem. Modern tubeless wheel rims for passenger cars, minibus-taxis and light delivery vehicles (LDV) normally include some form of bead retention hump ('safety hump') in their design. These 'humps' only partially assist in preventing bead movement at sub-normally low tyre pressure. No form of bead retention hump is manufactured into commercial truck or bus wheel rims. These 'humps' are of necessity quite shallow (small), otherwise they would prevent tyre fitting, but for the same reason do very little to nothing towards preventing the tyre bead from moving over the humps and into the well following deflation to less than 50% of the recommended air pressure.

The bead retention problem is concisely illustrated in a Pirelli report: The Prevention of Bead Dislodgement of Tyres and the Importance of limited Runflat Capability on Safety. This report notes the research done by Pirelli and the improvements achieved in the use of asymmetric humps, but concludes that even these advanced humps will not keep the bead in place under most circumstances.

Recognising these problems, other manufacturers have invested many millions into developing safety wheel and tyre assemblies. Examples include Dunlop Denovo, Michelin/Dunlop TD System, Continental's Conti Wheels, Yokohama's Safety Wheel, Goodyear and others. These systems have not been commercially successful, although they provided considerable advantages in safety and runflat convenience. Their success was limited because of a number of factors, inter alia:

  • the necessity of not only using a very special wheel rim but also a special tyre, thus limiting end user choice
  • reduced availability and expensive wheel (or tyre) replacement
  • routine puncture repairs became not only too expensive but required specialist agents, again limiting choice or making convenient repair inaccessible
  • these tyres could not be retro-fitted, i.e. the existing wheel and tyre could not be converted into a safety wheel - total replacement was required - again expensive
  • the range could not cover the many different sizes (from 12" passenger to 22.5" truck wheels)

 As a result, the contemporary position facing motorists, drivers and operators is extremely unsatisfactory and unsafe as most fear the fateful and unpredictable occurrence of collisions caused by steering loss following a tyre blow-out or other forms of severe tyre deflation.

One of the essential elements of a safety tyre is that it should provide adequate, predictable and consistently stable, lateral guidance and cornering forces when a driver is manoeuvring the vehicle, taking a series of bends, or overtaking at speed, right to the point of total tyre failure. Furthermore, the driver must be able to accelerate and brake without fear of unpredictable swerving off the chosen course. This can only be achieved if potential tyre dislodgement is neutralised.

Innovative safety devices have been developed in the USA, Europe and in South Africa to address the problem of bead retention. Systems such as Hutchinson, Rodgard and Namathela Tyrelok safety bands are available on the local market as imports or local products and when fitted to vehicles provide complete protection against steering control loss following any form of tyre failure.

The President's official vehicles, for example, are protected by the Rodgard system which is imported from the UK but is, as with the Hutchinson system, very expensive.

The Namathela Tyrelok Safety band system has been developed by the engineering team of the Aluminium Federation of South Africa and is manufactured locally. The system consists of inexpensive, rust-free aluminium safety bands that provide the same degree of protection as the imported safety products. These safety bands are fitted to cover the well space on both steel and magnesium alloy wheel rims. Once fitted, they create a solid metal platform, which locks the tyre onto the rim as the tyre bead cannot move back into the well following tyre deflation. The tyre, therefore, cannot dislodge from the rim. Contact with the road is always on rubber, providing the driver of any vehicle complete steering control.

The safety bands also allow the driver to drive to a place of safety within 10 to 30 kilometres from a desolate or dangerous spot with a completely flat tyre or tyres -depending on the condition of the tyre before deflation. This is a massive advantage for any driver who would otherwise have run the risk of being attacked whilst stranded at the side of a deserted road.The safety bands are forged in two exact halves. The bands are available for rim sizes ranging from 13" to 22.5". They can thus be fitted to all makes of cars, taxis, buses and trucks. They are fitted into the well space by means of aluminium spring clips, which provide equal tension and perfect balance to the bands. These fittings are designed not to release other than by means of a normal screwdriver or special tool.

Unless fitted with a specially designed gaiter the safety bands can only be applied to tubeless wheel rims and should under most circumstances not be used in conjunction with tubed tyres. By far the majority of South African vehicles, however, are equipped with tubeless tyres.

The Namathela Tyrelok safety bands do not have to be replaced following a tyre burst. They cannot rust or corrode and do not need any form of maintenance. Operators can continue to use them and transfer them to their new vehicles when they replace older ones. Investing in this form of wheel safety protection, therefore, represents a once off expense.

RSA and worldwide statistics

Road safety campaigns have mostly concentrated on generalized and popular notions that reduction in speed, wearing of safety belts and maintaining recommended following distances would bring about a lower accident rate.

Very little effort has been made to identify accidents that can be prevented - such as tyre-related accidents. The following South African statistics indicate the large number of accidents caused by tyre failure:

  • 24% of all accidents are caused by tyre failure1. The Taxi Industry themselves believe that the figure in their industry is as high as 34%2.
    - 6.3% of all fatal accidents are caused by tyre blowouts - CSIR3
    - 19% of all fatal taxi accidents are caused by a combination of tyre failure and overloading conditions4

The British Transport and Road Research Laboratory found that "..the problem of burst tyres is serious, 1 in 6 (16%) of all personal injury accidents on motorways being preceded by a vehicle sustaining a burst tyre"5.The US Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, Bureau of Motor Carrier Safety stated that "in 1977 tire failure was responsible for 31% and brake system failure for 30% of the causes for reportable accidents due to mechanical failure" and concluded that "the second leading cause of mechanical defect accidents is tire failure"6.In a study on the "Truck of the Future"7, conducted by the University of Miami - Marketing Department, truck drivers named "a solution to blowouts" as one of their top three wishes.

Most people regard tyre-related accidents as an "Act of God" or ascribe them to human error – they contend that the driver should have checked his vehicle's tyres before undergoing the journey. This line of thought does not recognize the fact that it is unlikely that the layman will be able to observe minor weaknesses in tyre structure which may in turn lead to a leakage or serious blow-out. Many tyre bursts are also caused by sharp objects, invisible to even the most careful driver, and even more so at night, making it impossible to ascribe these incidents to driver-error. The deterioration of our roads may well continue, and this will lead to even more tyre failure related accidents.

The disastrous results of tyre failure can be eliminated. New regulations stipulate that the fitting of anti-burst devices to the wheels of all mini buses, midi buses and buses is mandatory applicable to all vehicles operating with a licence in terms of the NLTTA.  Government made the wearing of safety belts compulsory despite the fact that the wearing of safety belts does not prevent accidents from happening - they merely limit the degree of injury or prevent potential death once drivers and their passengers are already involved in an accident.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

  1. National Rapid Response Programme: CSIR (1990 - 1995)
  2. Statement by Mr Joe Mabaso, Chairman: South African Taxi Council (SATACO) and Board Member: Road Accident Fund (RAF)
  3. National Rapid Response Programme: CSIR (1990 - 1995)
  4. Case Studies: Contributing factors to Minibus-taxi collisions. CSIR Report No DPVT/C 127.2, June 1990

______________________________________________

 

Advantages and Ease of Fitting:

What are the direct advantages of using NAMATHELA TYRELOK Safety Bands?

It is the most inexpensive and cost effective way to ensure absolute wheel safety (one band costs ¼ of the price of a new tyre and lasts a lifetime)

  • The unique “Tyrelok” securing aluminium clip makes the fitting and removal of the band from the wheel rim very easy.
  • It provides fail-safe protection against loss of control of vehicles in the event of burst tyres or tyre failure of any other form
  • It ensures active protection to drivers, vehicles, passengers and loads
  • It protects and saves lives
  • It prevents damage to third parties

Is NAMATHELA TYRELOK compatible with current tyre operations?

  • Fitting of NAMATHELA TYRELOK  presents little adjustment to current operations for tyre fitting and re-fitting.
  • Tyre fitting personnel merely install the bands onto rims with no extra engineering or mechanical work required
  • Installation requires a mere 5-8 minutes additional time for fitting per tyre
  • Fitting is almost similar to fitting a rim clamp on tubed rims - the only difference   is that it locks onto the inside of the rim.

Does NAMATHELA TYRELOK complicate operations?

  • No - Fitting NAMATHELA TYRELOK is a simple operation - fit them once, secure well and the safety band provides full operational protection
  • Since each safety band weighs less than 330g (cars) to 1.2kg (trucks) and, once fitted becomes a fixed part of the rim, wheel balance is not affected at all
  • They don’t affect wheel balance at all

NAMATHELA TYRELOK presents the cheapest way to protect your family in any vehicle

  • A complete set of 5 safety bands for a passenger vehicle (including the spare wheel) will  cost R 1250.00 excluding VAT.
  • The costs of fitting and of training suitable personnel in the use of the band are minuscule because the system is so simple

Who uses NAMATHELA TYRELOK already?

  • In the RSA users include African Oxygen (AFROX), SA Breweries, Unitrans, Armour Systems, Vickers OMC, PUTCO BHP Billiton, Anglo Vaal, Anglo Gold, Jet Demolition, Gauteng Provincial Government, and many  ISASA  and Government schools using Sprinters and  mini bus type vehicles to transport children
  • NAMATHELA TYRELOK is supported by the AA, endorsed and recommended by SBV, Maxiprest, Tredcor (the Trentyre, Mastertreads, Safe-T-tyre Group), and the Institute of Traffic Officers

How reliable is NAMATHELA TYRELOK?

  • Correctly fitted, the Safety Bands are 100% fail-proof and come with a lifetime guarantee.
  • They can be re-used on the same size wheel rim.
  • They can be transferred from your old to your new car as long as the wheel rim sizes are the same

Simply to Save your Life

 

 

BMA Marketing Services (Pty) Ltd
If it doesn't say Tyrelok™, it's NOT Tyrelok!
Tyrelok Safety Bands