Michael Molloy: Mum's campaign victory leads to old tyres ban

The government is to ban old bus and lorry tyres from roads, thanks "in no small way" to the campaigning of a mother whose son died in a coach crash.

Announcing the law change, Roads Minister Baroness Vere said it had come about as the result of Frances Molloy's "years of campaigning".

Ms Molloy's 18-year-old son Michael died in 2012 after a 19-year-old tyre on a coach he was on blew out.

She said the ban was a "major step forward" for road safety.

Michael, fellow passenger Kerry Ogden and coach driver Colin Daulby died in the crash on the A3 in Surrey as they travelled back the North West from the Bestival music festival on the Isle of Wight on 10 September 2012.

Baroness Vere said the ban, which covers lorry, bus and coach tyres aged 10 years or more in England, Scotland and Wales, would be "a safety boost for road users everywhere".

"This change is in no small way the result of years of campaigning, particularly from Frances Molloy, to whom I thank and pay tribute," she added.

The ban follows a Department for Transport (DfT) investigation, which found ageing tyres suffer corrosion which could cause them to fail.

The move will make it illegal to fit tyres aged 10 years or older to the front wheels of lorries, buses and coaches, and all wheels of minibuses.

Ms Molloy, who set up the Tyred campaign group following her son's death, said it was "a disappointment" that tyres in twin configuration at the rear of vehicles would not be banned, as the research found one tyre in a pair presents a lower risk of loss of directional control or stability, but added she was viewing the news as "a victory".

"For me, the most important thing was to ensure that no other family goes through what we go through every day and to make sure that the roads are safer for everybody.

"I feel we have achieved some form of justice for Michael, which is what he deserved."

Both new and re-tread tyres are already required to be marked with their date of manufacture, but the new requirement means the date marking must be maintained "in a legible form".

An additional assessment will be included in the annual MOT test, a DfT spokesman said.

The legislation will be presented to Parliament in the autumn.

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