Campaign suggests tyre underinflation present in more than half of UK cars

As part of its activities to support Tyre Safety Month in October, ATS Euromaster tested the tyre pressures of more than 1,000 cars at 28 of its centres across the UK. What it found was that 55 per cent of those vehicles – 561 cars – had at least one underinflated tyre. This high figure closely tallies with the 57 per cent recorded by industry association TyreSafe as part of its ‘Bad Air Day’ campaign.

The results were even worse in certain regions, which ATS Euromaster has named and shamed. In Marlborough, a staggering 91 per cent of tested cars were running on at least one underinflated tyre, and not a single car checked during the week sported a correctly inflated full set. Close behind was Urmston in Greater Manchester, where 88 per cent of cars checked by ATS Euromaster’s expert technicians were driving on underinflated tyres, and just five per cent were at the correct pressure.

“We know that underinflated tyres are a huge problem across Britain but we were blown away to discover that in some parts of the country, we didn’t see a single retail or fleet customer running tyres at the correct pressure,” comments Paul Millward, health, safety and environment manager at ATS Euromaster. “Underinflated tyres pose a serious safety hazard, as they increase braking distance, meaning your tyre pressure could be the difference between stopping safely and causing a serious accident. We hope these results are a wake-up call for drivers to get their tyre pressures checked – before they put themselves and others at risk.”

On a positive note, the Dorset town of Bridport may be forgiven a smidgeon of smugness after it topped the table, with 67 per cent of drivers visiting the local ATS Euromaster centre arriving on tyres at the correct pressure – 12 per cent above the national average. Following Bridport were the motorists of Swindon, with 59 per cent of tested cars maintaining acceptable pressures in all four tyres. Burnley (55 per cent), Liverpool (54 per cent) and Newbury (48 per cent) rounded out the top five best tyre pressures in the country.

ATS Euromaster says that drivers wanting to avoid a ‘bad air day’ – and reduce fuel bills made worse by low-pressure tyres – can call into their local service centre for a no obligation free vehicle health check.