Bridgestone Urges ‘School Run Mums’ to Think Before You Drive

With the new school year upon us many mums are gearing up for the term time school run. But a survey conducted by Bridgestone UK indicates that a disturbing number of women could be putting themselves and their children in danger every time they head out on the road. The survey revealed women to be the worst offenders when it comes to tyre safety, with many not even carrying out basic yet potentially life-saving tyre checks.

More than half of all female respondents (54.1 per cent) have not checked their tyre tread depth in over a month – including 21.5 per cent who have never checked it. More than three quarters of the women surveyed were unsure of the legal safety requirements for tread depth, and 84 per cent did not know that they could face fines of up to £2,500 and lose three points from their licence for each tyre with insufficient tread.

The survey was conducted as part of Bridgestone’s Think Before You Drive campaign, run in association with the RAC Foundation and FIA Foundation. Some worrying statistics highlighted by the study include:

More than a fifth (21.5 per cent) of female drivers and 9.1 per cent of male motorists, have never checked their tyre tread depth.

15.6 per cent of women have never checked their tyre pressure, compared to only 3.9 per cent of men.

In the past year, 20.5 per cent of women have on at least one occasion driven with passengers despite knowing that one or more of their tyres were unsafe.

“Our survey shows that many women don’t realise that checking their tyres is crucial to road safety,” said Andy Lane, marketing manager of Bridgestone UK. “Driving with worn or under-inflated tyres has a huge impact on how your car grips the road, and can dramatically affect your car’s stopping distance, leading to potentially horrific results.

“But while some women may believe that they are driving around safely, many are still dangerously unsure about how much tread their tyres should have and how much air should be in them.

“As a result, they could be unknowingly putting themselves and their passengers – which in the majority of cases are children – in danger.”

Mr. Lane adds that driving on incorrectly maintained tyres isn’t only unsafe; it also increases fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. “More than 40 per cent of us consume more fuel by running on under-inflated tyres, amounting to more than 18 million tonnes of CO2 emissions, and every year, more than 56 million under-inflated tyres have to be replaced across Europe.”

Bridgestone UK is urging parents to ensure their cars are safe for the new school year, and the company adds that it is making life easier for busy mums by offering free tyre health checks to all motorists at their network of First Stop dealerships.