NZ begins ‘Tyre Awareness Week’

Today marks the start of New Zealand’s inaugural Tyre Awareness Week. The initiative is driven by government agencies, tyre makers and industry bodies and aims to encourage motorists to check tread depth and condition, and to maintain tyres at the correct pressure. NZ Tyre Awareness Week is supported by a dedicated website, www.tyresafety.org.nz.

“It only takes a few minutes once a month to check your tread depth and air pressure,” says Andrew Bayliss, motoring advice manager at the NZ Automobile Association. “www.tyresafety.org.nz shows the simple checks every driver should be doing to keep them and their whanau safe. Tyres are the only contact between a vehicle and the road.”

Ernst Zollner, road safety director at the New Zealand government’s Transport Agency, says the agency is supporting tyre awareness week as part of a long-term effort to encourage drivers to make sure their vehicles are safe for every journey: “Properly inflated tyres with good tread depth are a ‘must have’ for your vehicle to be safe. No driver is perfect, and safe tyres can help prevent small mistakes from resulting in serious crashes. We all need to step up and take a more active role in keeping our vehicles safe.”