Bridgestone Study: Women Worst for Tyre Maintenance

More than three quarters of the UK’s women drivers believe that they are driving around safely, when in fact they are dangerously unaware that they are putting their lives and the lives of their passengers at risk. According to a new survey, more than 82 per cent of women motorists believe they have never driven on a tyre which is even slightly unsafe, but less than a quarter of those questioned know what the legal minimum tread depth of their tyres actually is.

And while more than half of those questioned claim to have checked their tyre pressures in the last month, 55 per cent of women did not know that an under-inflated tyre can dramatically affect a car’s stopping distance.

Bridgestone UK is promoting its safety message as part of a new campaign to offer every driver in the country a free tyre health check. The company has recently joined forces with the RAC Foundation and FIA Foundation to promote the Think Before You Drive campaign, encouraging all drivers to check their tyres in an effort to reduce accidents.

“Tyres are the only contact our cars have with the road,” said Andy Lane, marketing manager of Bridgestone UK. “Our survey has illustrated that while women believe they are driving around safely, the truth is that many drivers are still unsure as to how much air should be in their tyres, and how much tread should be on them.

The national survey showed that women are the worst offenders, with only 46 per cent having checked their tyre tread depth in the last month and only 23 per cent actually knowing the safe legal tread depth limit is 1.6mm.

“While our primary concern is safety,” said Andy, “it’s also worth noting that for each tyre that is below the legal tread limit, a motorist can be fined £2,500 and have three penalty points added to their licence. So anyone who has four tyres below the limit could potentially be fined £10,000 and be banned from driving because of the 12 points.”