GEORGE TOWN, Jan 4 ― Retreaded tyres were found to be responsible for about 10,000 road accidents annually, Works Minister Baru Bian said.

He said this translated to about 30 accidents a day due to burst retreaded tyres used mostly by lorries and heavy vehicles.

"I am shocked that the use of retreaded tyres was the main cause of most accidents on the road,” he said.

He said the second main cause of accidents was due to overloading.

"There is also a high number of overweight lorries that caused accidents,” he said in a press conference during a working visit at the Malaysian Highway Authority office here.

He said low quality retreaded tyres were not safe and enforcement must be stepped up to reduce their prevalence.

"This boils down to enforcement, we should not have overweight vehicles on the road so we need to ensure that enforcement is taken seriously,” he said.

Retreading is a partial recycling process in which used tyre casings are reconditioned to extend their useful life. This may be done repeatedly provided the casing is not compromised.

However, some retreaders also simply cut new grooves into worn tyres to simulate fresh treads. These look visually new but have less structural integrity than remoulded tyres.

Retreaded tyres, mostly used by heavy vehicles such as lorries and buses, might burst due to overloading, casing or poor quality rubber and glue used on the tyres.

The tyres could explode while the vehicle is moving and this led to accidents.