Bridgestone tyre safety survey: 81% of drivers never check their tyres

Checking tyres’ tread depth is vital in ensuring this safety-critical product is fit for roads (Photo: Bridgestone)

A survey of 2,000 UK car owners conducted online by Research Without Barriers on behalf of Bridgestone generated some damning figures for tyre safety. Of the drivers surveyed, 81 per cent admitted to never checking their tyres, and only 14 per cent described them as the most important safety feature on their cars. Other headline statistics from Bridgestone’s research include 54 per cent not knowing that driving on illegal tyres is an extremely dangerous act, only 31 per cent of motorists admitting to being well informed on road safety matters and just 12 per cent checking their tyre treads once a fortnight, the recommended interval between checks. For more on this story, click through to the consumer tyre advice website from the Tyrepress team, WhatTyre.

Bridgestone’s North Region vice president Andrea Manenti said the company remains “surprised that tyres aren’t seen as the number one safety device on a car in the minds of so many motorists.” He added that the “results show us that there is still a lot of education needed around the topic of tyres.”

Manenti quoted other figures from the survey too: “the research also revealed that only 46 per cent of motorists would call out a friend if they knew they were driving on illegal tyres, when the very act of doing this could be the difference between life and death.  With sudden changes in weather experienced in the UK, it is paramount that we remind motorists of the importance of tyre checks.”

Bridgestone is urging drivers to ‘Become a Bridgestone Road Safety Hero’ in a new campaign, lined to TyreSafe’s Tyre Safety Month in October. Its will conduct hundreds of free tyre checks next month, with its Bridgestone road safety team visiting Roadchef’s Norton Caines Services on the M6 Toll on October 19 to assist motorists, with similar future activities also planned.

Stuart Lovatt, TyreSafe chair, added: “This research by Bridgestone reinforces the concerns we have on driver understanding and attitudes towards tyre safety. Regrettably, road users often take their tyres granted for and don’t appreciate just how vital they are. Tyres are unique in being the one component which determines how well a vehicle accelerates, brakes and steers. We encourage them to remember to ACT – check Air pressure, Condition and Tread.”

Bridgestone Road Safety Survey (Source: Bridgestone)