Michelin roadshow helps Arval employees get the right pressure

Following a series of Michelin Fill Up With Air roadshows, the number of employees at BNP Paribas Group vehicle rental company Arval driving their cars on correctly inflated tyres has increased significantly. Over the past four years the events, run in conjunction with Michelin, have seen an improvement of 38 per cent, the tyre manufacturer says. Michelin staff checked the tyre pressures and tread depths of 151 Arval employee vehicles at the 2012 event, and more than two thirds of tyres tested were at the correct pressure or less than seven psi under-inflated.

The number of Arval employee cars found to have tyre pressures considered to be very dangerous – more than 15 psi under-inflated – has dropped to three per cent in four years. Michelin says the increase in correct tyre pressures has been encouraged by the installation of a Michelin Man air-line at Arval’s head office in Swindon; a tyre pressure gauge that employees and visitors to the Arval Centre can use for free.

Tracey Scarr, Arval’s fleet and road safety manager, said: “Working with Michelin on the regular Fill Up With Air events and installing the Michelin Man pressure gauge on-site has really helped driver awareness of the importance of correct tyre pressures. This is shown by the positive results that we are seeing.

“We began holding Michelin’s Fill Up With Air events to understand if employees were properly maintaining their tyres and to increase employee awareness of the benefits of doing so. These events give all Arval employees, whether they drive for business or not, the opportunity to have their tyres checked by an independent expert.

“Through our ongoing driver safety programme, we give our employees a great deal of information and support and initiatives like this provide further examples of how we can help them to reduce their road risk. Tyres are a crucial element of vehicle maintenance. Properly inflated tyres make drivers safer and can also reduce their fuel consumption.

“Checking and correcting tyre pressures is straightforward, but it is still an area which is routinely neglected by too many drivers in the UK. At Arval we are keen that all of our colleagues are as safe as possible on the roads, whether they are driving for business or pleasure, which is why we continue to support and educate all employees.”

Paul Brady, Michelin’s key account manager for Arval, said: “We have checked 736 vehicles at Arval since 2008 and we are really pleased to see a continuing improvement in results.

“It goes to prove that the effort the business is going to in developing safety awareness among drivers is really paying off. Arval is setting a fantastic example and we would encourage other companies to follow suit.”