Navvies news Bungle on van tyres

navvies News

Tired Tyres?

Yes, it is an old pun, but that has never stopped me before. Legislation came in on 1 February to ban tyres over 10 years old in certain circumstances, these are: 1: The front steered axle of any HGV, bus or coach 2: Any single wheel fitted to a minibus (i.e. it does not apply to dual rear wheels)

Related to this it is also a requirement for all tyres fitted to these vehicles to have a legible date code. If the date code is missing or illegible on a tyre that comes under these new rules then the vehicle will fail its annual test; if the date code is missing or illegible on a tyre that is fitted to one of the above vehicles but not affected by the legislation (e.g. on a dual rear wheel axle) then a minor fault will be recorded (what was previously known as an ‘advisory’).

What does this mean in practice? Well, leaving aside HGVs, buses or coaches (where your designated transport manager will / should already have this well in hand), if you are running a minibus (whether owned privately, by a charity, by a business or hired in) then you need to make sure your tyres are up to date. Note that the legal definition of a minibus is 9 or more passenger seats (not including the driver) which means the majority of canal society vehicles will not actually be affected by this change. That said, although none of the WRG fleet (which have at most 8 passenger seats) come under this new law, we have made the decision to comply with it voluntarily and my personal view is that anyone running a vehicle should do the same – I have been the driver of a large vehicle when a front tyre (despite visually being fine at the start of the journey) let go, almost certainly due to age deterioration. It was not a pleasant experience and I was very lucky no-one got hurt.

To check the age of your tyres, you need to find the date code. This is a four digit number embossed on the side wall of the tyre, normally within an oval outline. Note if all you can find is a three digit number then the tyre was manufactured before 2000 - in which case stop reading this article and arrange a tyre replacement now! When you find the four digit number, the first two digits indicate the week number and the second two digits indicate the year. So for example if it says ‘3017’ then the tyre was manufactured in week 30 of 2017.

One other thing to note: if you are using retread tyres (sometimes known as remoulds), then the date of the retread process is used rather than the original manufacture date, and it will be this date that is on the sidewall.

Above: where to find the date code. Below: this tyre was made in week 38 of year 2017

navvies News

(Not) Coming (anytime) soon...

We’re afraid that despite best efforts to plan for getting some WRG activities going sometime this year (see pages 8-11) it’s going to be a frustrating time for at least a little while yet. Not only are there currently no Canal Camps or mobile groups’ weekend digs happening, but several other non-restoration events that our volunteers usually get involved in have also been cancelled as a result of Covid-19, some for the second year running. Events NOT happening which were originally scheduled for this spring include: · The IWA Canalway Cavalvade festival at Little Venice in London · The BCN Clean Up · The Rickmansworth Canal Festival · The IWA Trailboat Festival on the Chesterfield Canal

As we go to press some canal societies have also suspended their regular restoration working parties, while on other sites local volunteering (ie without overnight accommodation or catering) has carried on as a ‘permitted activity’ under stringent policies and checks and no doubt more sites will open up as the lockdown is eased. See local canal societies’ websites or Facebook pages for details.

New from the Hub...

The Inland Waterways Association’s Restoration Hub has continued its series of online seminars, primarily aimed at those of you who are involved in local canal societies and other restoration groups, but also likely to be of interest to some WRG / mobile volunteers.

They include a funding workshop, held online on 12 February but which should be available as an online video by the time you read this. Ian McLintock from Charity Excellence Framework offers his advice, tips and tricks and expertise aimed at improving the prospects for your funding bids during this difficult time when grants are hard to find.

And on 25 Febuary Jo Henderson will be presenting What’s Your Story, an online presentation on what’s meant by the ‘good content’ that any fundraising professional will tell you that you need to put out on digital media, and how to tell your story effectively to attract new support to your project.

Finally there’ a video of a restoration workshop Supporting our Volunteers with Canal & River Trust National Volunteering Development Manager Edd Moss leading a session exploring what is good practise in volunteer management. It includes providing a consistent journey for your volunteers; how we’ve all had to change in the past 12 months; and how volunteer managers can create more flexible opportunities to work around people’s lives and meet changing demands.

See waterways.org.uk or contact jenny.morris@waterways.org.uk if you need help in accessing any of these, or any other IWA Restoration Hub resources.

New head of head office...

As Mike Palmer mentioned in his Chairman’s Comment, in early February the Inland Waterways Association (WRG’s parent body) welcomed its new permanent Chief Executive, the senior member of the professional staff at our head office. Phil Hornsey replaces replacing the temporary appointment of Sarah O’Grady, who in turn replaced the long-serving Neil Edwards when he retired in summer 2020.

Phil comes from British Rowing, the national governing body of rowing sport, where he was Director of Membership and Community, and has “spent many years on and around rivers and canals”.