TyreSafe launches website revamp, October’s Tyre Safety Month

Yesterday (7 September, 2011) marked the first TyreSafe quarterly industry briefing, during which chairman Stuart Jackson and a range of guest speakers spoke of the organisation’s past and future work in promoting tyre safety in the UK. In preparation for this October’s tyre safety month, TyreSafe has launched its new website, www.tyresafe.org – introduced by Jackson during the briefing – which includes a cleaner layout, easier navigation, and access to a range of media resources, such as new animated videos of the crash test dummy family the McIntyres explaining how motorists can examine tyres at home.

On the new website, TyreSafe states that the previous design had been popular with visitors, but the large volume of material available to download, plus the broad range of sectors now covered by the organisation, meant that a fresh look was required to make it more accessible. The new site also takes account of the predominance of social networking sites, featuring better integration of the groups’ social media platforms on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Flickr.

Jackson explained: “The range of services and information we provide online has increased significantly over the last few years and although the previous website served us well, we felt a new look would help visitors find exactly what they were looking for, quickly and easily.

“We’re very pleased with the result. It’s got a crisp feel to it, with the various sectors clearly defined. It’s also possible for visitors to sign up to our newsletters, see our Twitter feeds and link to our Facebook page, giving them a number of ways to engage with us and learn all about tyre safety.

“The site also includes an expanded range of multimedia resources including a new winter tyre demonstration movie and a new animation featuring our family of crash test dummies. All in all, it’s a great new website and I would urge anyone wanting to learn more about tyre safety, and the vital role they can play in making our roads safer, to take a look.”

Other features include a photo library and a news section, plus important safety advice about car, motorcycle, caravan, van, truck and horsebox tyres. The site has also retained key popular features such as the organisations online pressure checker and iPhone app, which was recently named as one of the 30 best motoring apps by The Daily Telegraph.

2011 Tyre Safety month materials launched

In addition to the new website TyreSafe also used its briefing to launch its new campaign materials. It said it encourages garages and tyre dealers to support this year’s campaign by offering free tyre safety checks. For its part, TyreSafe has developed a wide range of free campaign materials for use by the trade to help them get involved and reduce the number of tyre related accidents this winter.

This year’s theme is based around the tyre industry topic du jour – tyre safety in the poorer weather of winter (see T&A September for the annual winter tyre feature). With many drivers experiencing significant problems during last year’s extreme winter, this year’s Tyre Safety Month aims to ensure that drivers are properly prepared for the poor weather ahead. As well as educating them about the added safety benefits of winter tyres, TyreSafe will be reminding drivers about the importance of adequate tread depth, correct inflation and general tyre condition. Posters, leaflets, web banners, DVDs, an online movie, animations and many other resources are now available to those in the trade simply by visiting the TyreSafe website. 

Fronting this year’s campaign are the McIntyres, who will encourage drivers to take check their own tread depth by taking the 20p test. The family will appear in a new online animation which gives drivers some handy tyre care hints and tips.

Jackson said: “Tyre safety month is a great opportunity for all garages and tyre dealers to help keep drivers safe on the road. By offering free tyre safety checks or displaying our information leaflets, posters and other materials, they really can make a difference to the safety on our roads.”

As well as tyre safety month materials being displayed by a large number of independent garages and workshops, this year a record number of franchise dealerships are set to support the campaign. With more than a dozen vehicle manufacturers now supporting TyreSafe, the campaign is expected to reach a record number of motorists as TyreSafe’s partners embrace and fully get behind the campaign.