Europeans Soft on Tyre Inflation

Results from 15 European countries where Bridgestone’s “Think Before You Drive” campaign was conducted last year show 81 per cent of motorists to be driving on under-inflated tyres. The tyre maker drew this conclusion after conducting tyre safety checks on some 52,400 vehicles in the UK and on the Continent, and notes that this inattention to correct tyre pressure wastes the annual equivalent of four billion litres of fuel and adds 9.3 million tons of unnecessary CO2 emissions to the air we breathe.

Furthermore, 26.5 per cent of motorists were found to be driving on what Bridgestone considered to be “seriously under-inflated tyres” – tyres whose air content is at least 0.5 bar below the manufacturer’s recommended pressure – and 7.5 per cent are motoring with tyres at least 0.75 bar below recommended pressure. Tread depth was also found to be wanting; 16.6 per cent of tyres on checked vehicles were worn down below the EU legal minimum 1.6mm dread depth. Approximately nine per cent of inspected tyres were both severely worn and severely under inflated, and Bridgestone comments that three per cent of the checked tyres would experience 50 per cent reduced mileage due to under-inflation.

Bridgestone takes pains to point out that driving on under-inflated tyres not only increases rolling resistance and vehicle fuel consumption. Loss of vehicle handling control and increase in vehicle drift rises sharply when tyre pressure is reduced. Low tyre pressure also has an extremely negative effect on tyre durability, due to excessive shear stress in the tyre shoulder and heat build-up from sidewall bending – these factors can lead to tyre failure. Insufficient tread dept also represents an immediate safety risk. Bridgestone points out that for a car travelling on tyres with a tread depth below 1.6mm, the speed at which hydroplaning starts is reduced by up to 40 per cent.