Pressure builds as Tyre Safety Month begins

It gets underway tomorrow, and UK motorists will be put under pressure to ensure their tyres are properly inflated. The Tyre Safety Month campaign, organised by no-profit road safety group TyreSafe and supported by thousands of garages and other organisations across the UK, will be encouraging drivers to make monthly checks on their tyre pressures to ensure they remain safe on the road. What’s more, by driving on correctly inflated tyres, motorists will help their tyres to last longer and even reduce their fuel bills.

“As the nights start to draw in and the weather deteriorates, it’s essential that drivers ensure that their tyres are safe and fit for the winter ahead,” explains TyreSafe chairman Stuart Jackson. “The most basic inspection which should be carried out at least once a month, is simply checking that your tyres are properly inflated. Of course, tread depth and tyre condition are also important but to help drivers make these assessments, thousands of garages will be offering free safety checks throughout the month.”

Although carrying out regular tyre pressure checks is as easy as filling up with fuel, it’s a task that many drivers simply neglect. Indeed, recent results from a pan-European survey by one TyreSafe member involving more than 27,000 cars found that 78 per cent were being driven on under-inflated tyres. Even more alarming was the fact that more than a quarter of the sample (28.4 per cent) had tyres that were either seriously or severely under-inflated, greatly reducing their safety on the road.

The impact of poor tyre maintenance was highlighted earlier this week in the latest road casualty statistics issued by the Department for Transport which revealed that in 2012, 194 drivers were killed or seriously injured in the UK as a result of an accident caused by an illegal, defective or under-inflated tyre.

Simon Sheldon Wilson, Highways Agency’s director of Traffic Management added, “England’s motorways and major A-roads are among the safest in the world. But it’s important that everyone plays their part in this by making sure their vehicle is roadworthy. Taking a few minutes to check your tyre pressures once a month – or before long journeys – helps to keep you, your passengers, other drivers and road workers safe.”

To help drivers understand the importance of checking their tyre pressures, TyreSafe has developed a suite of materials including a dealer locator and online education animation which can be found by visiting www.tyresafe.org. There’s also even a free iPhone app available to download or online tool which provides drivers with their correct tyre pressures, simply by inputting their vehicle registration details.