Bridgestone Survey Says UK Fails to Check Pressure Enough

A new survey of UK drivers conducted by Bridgestone shows that the majority of drivers are four times as likely to cut the life of their tyres, increase their fuel consumption and see a leap in their CO2 emissions because they are ignorant of the Highway Code’s advice on the regularity of pressure checking. 50 per cent believed they should check their tyres every four weeks, with a further 21 per cent stating tyres should be checked fortnightly. In reality, the Highway Code specifies, “check weekly.”

Bridgestone asked more than 1,500 drivers from across the UK how often they should check their tyre pressure in order to stay safe, extend the life off the tyre and reduce fuel consumption and carbon emissions.

Fifty-nine per cent of men got the answer right, but in reality only a quarter check their pressure weekly. This compared to an awareness of 37 per cent among women but with only a fifth actually checking their tyres weekly.

Andy Dingley, Bridgestone’s senior analyst commented, “The findings about regularity and interval gaps between tyre pressure checking was the most surprising and worrying. There are almost 30 million drivers on the UK roads who will have all read the Highway Code in part or full, so it is surprising to see so many people get this basic area of car maintenance wrong.

“Simple weekly tyre pressure checks need not take time but can keep you safe, extend the life off the tyres and reduce fuel consumption all leading to great cost savings.”

The survey also revealed that in the UK men are still their partner’s designated ‘gender menders’ when it comes to all things mechanical. Ninety per cent of men check their own tyres, less than half of that number, only 44 per cent for women. Women are at more risk of being under pressure – literally – as they prefer their husbands and boyfriends to get their hands dirty on car safety matters while they take on the majority of other household chores.

More telling were the reasons given with 44 per cent of women saying they “did not know how to do it”, while a further 45 per cent gave ‘other’ reasons, the vast majority of which were along the lines of “my husband/partner or boyfriend do it for me.”