Free Rolling Tyres and Changes to HGV and PSV Tests

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) have stated, coming into effect from April 2023, that if they find tyres marked FRT fitted to the front steering axles of vehicles at annual vehicle tests, this will be treated as a major deficiency and will result in a failure.

FRT stands for Free Rolling Tyre and should be displayed on the sidewall of relevant tyres.

FRTs are designed for use on the axles of trailers and vehicles, but they are not intended for the front steering and drive axels. The current practice where these are found on unsuitable axles is to issue an advisory notice rather than to class this as a major deficiency, however this will change from April 2023. DVSA advise they will be updating the HGV and Public Service Vehicle (PSV) inspection manuals to reflect this change early next year.

It is important that tyre checks are included within driver’s daily walk around checks to look out for issues such as this which may initially fly under the radar.

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