Tyres
The examination of wheel/tyre units is carried out in the General Chemistry Section of SPSA Forensic Services, Glasgow. They provide a wheel/tyre examination service to the eight Scottish police forces.
All of the tyre examiners have been authorised by either the Secretary of State for Scotland or Scotland's First Minister to issue their findings in the form of signed reports.
The Service
A deflated tyre on a vehicle involved in an accident may require to be forensically examined to determine whether the deflation occurred prior to the impact. If so it may have contributed to loss of vehicular control. If not it must be shown that deflation occurred as a result of the accident and therefore played no part in its cause.
SPSA Forensic Services, Glasgow offers the following examination service in relation to wheel and tyre units from the following types of vehicle:
- Cars
- Vans
- Motorcycles
- Bicycles
- Light Goods Vehicles
- Heavy Goods Vehicles
Examination and interpretation of any damage to the wheel and tyre is carried out to check for indications of a poorly maintained tyre (e.g. illegal tread depth or exposed cords), vehicular problems (e.g. tracking or camber defects) or accident damage. Where possible and safe to do so, the tyre is reinflated and tested for leaks.