Michelin Australia has pledged its support for the 2012 Fatality Free Friday campaign, which aims to achieve no road deaths in Australia on Friday, 25 May 2012. Michelin Australia managing director Thierry Martin said the company is committed to the road safety ethos behind the 2012 FFF campaign, not only for their staff but also the wider community.
A new report commissioned by the RAC Foundation suggests that the Treasury will need to make up a shortfall in fuel duty caused by more efficient cars. The Association of British Drivers suggests that drivers are subsidising general taxation by far too much already and that redressing this imbalance should be the priority.
Information from ‘the coalface’ is being sought for a new Michelin website. As part of a stated drive to improve consumer power, the tyre maker is asking fleet managers to encourage their employees to share experiences they’ve had with tyre dealers; fleet vehicle drivers can post details of service and price on Michelin’s Tyre Dealer Review website and rate their overall experience out of five stars. By doing so, Michelin believes drivers can help others make an informed decision about the tyre fitting service they use.
A survey of British motorists found that almost two thirds of drivers are opting to leave their cars behind to travel by other means in order to save money, Bridgestone UK research has revealed. The research, commissioned by the tyre manufacturer, found that 65 per cent of people have stopped using their car so often in an effort to save money and 67 per cent are encouraging their families to walk more as part of a wider cost cutting exercise.
After reading the facts unearthed by the latest Kwik Fit survey, you’d be forgiven for wishing some British motorists stuck to public transport. The study of 2,027 adults carried out for the fast fit network shows that four per cent of respondents – a proportion representing 1.3 million British motorists – don’t even know if their vehicle has a spare wheel. Three per cent – think a million motorists – confessed to not having any provision whatsoever for a flat tyre.
Main dealers don’t spring readily to mind when the average motorists thinks of affordable online tyre purchasing, yet Audi says that its approved centres throughout the UK offer competitive tyre fitting. Indeed, the company says that during March quotes given by its Audi Centres and Audi Authorised Repairers were, on average, four per cent cheaper than the leading national online tyre supplier on a like-for-like basis. To help drivers work out the fully-fitted cost of new tyres purchased through its centres, Audi has introduced a new online tyre quotation tool at www.audi.co.uk/tyres.
Vehicle data expert, HPI, is offering motor dealers online access to information that will enable their customers to buy a car that will safely and legally tow their caravan. Many motorists are unaware that if their car is incorrectly matched to the caravan they are towing they may be stopped, fined £1,000 or gain three points on their licence. Towsafe, powered by HPI, has been providing a car and caravan matching service for over 10 years and now dealers can use this as a robust tool to secure a sales opportunity and increase customer satisfaction levels, whilst meeting their Duty of Care obligations.
Michelin and ATS Euromaster will stage a ‘Fill up with Air’ roadshow at the Eurotunnel Le Shuttle terminal in Folkestone on Thursday 5 and Friday 6 April 2012, between 7am and 3.30pm, offering free tyre safety inspections for departing vehicles. Seven tyre specialists will check tread depths and pressures, inspecting tyres for potential safety hazards like objects penetrating the tread or lumps, bulges, cracks or tears to the sidewalls. The roadshow will offer free on-site puncture repairs for the first time, thanks to ATS-E’s involvement.
Motorists have lifted the lid on some of the more extraordinary dangers facing them on the UK’s roads last year including a kamikaze duck, an "evil pheasant" and…Susan Boyle.
Customer calls to Autoglass reveal that some drivers were their own worst enemies with one actually shattering his windscreen from the inside….after accidentally firing his shotgun.
The mishaps were among a series of wacky explanations given to the leading automotive services company from drivers with damaged vehicle glass last year.
Vehicles fitted with run-flat tyres as original equipment, such as the various members of the BMW range, are now entering the used car market in increasing numbers and being purchased by drivers with more limited budgets than the first owners. To cater for these motorists’ tyre needs, Bridgestone has launched its first Firestone-branded run-flat for the European market. Called the Firehawk SZ90µ RFT (Run-Flat Technology), the replacement market tyre is available in six sizes for 16- to 18-inch, 40 to 55 series, and features a reinforced sidewall rubber construction for continued safe driving if the tyre deflates or suffers a total loss of pressure.
UK tanker drivers have voted for strike action in a dispute over “safety and growing instability in the fuel industry.” Members of the Unite trade union working for five major fuel distribution firms delivering to stations run by Tesco, Sainsbury’s, BP, Shell and Esso backed the call for strike action. The motion was reportedly passed by an average of 69 per cent. Over 61.1 per cent of those voting across the seven companies voted for strike action. Turnouts across the five companies averaged 77.7 per cent.
A new Michelin-run website aims to help UK motorists make an informed decision when it comes to choosing a tyre dealer. As part of what the tyre maker calls a “drive to improve consumer power”, it has introduced the Tyre Dealer Reviews site, which allows motorists to leave reviews of tyre dealers and provide a rating of between one and five stars, depending on their experiences.
Kevin Buchanan, managing director of Palletline, has added his voice to the continuing chorus of discontent with UK government fuel duty policy coming from the haulage industry. “The country needs to recover from reckless spending, but reckless taxing is not the way to do it. Hauliers are being targeted because they do not have a voice in Westminster equal to their importance,” he commented adding:
Brembo has won hat-trick of prizes in German motoring magazines. With German motorists being known for their high standards, Brembo is keen to point out it success with magazines: Motorrad, Auto Motor und Sport and Auto Bild.
Out of sight, out of mind. Research carried out on behalf of Kwik-Fit shows 73 per cent of motorists don’t regularly check their brakes for wear. This high level of neglect is a stark contrast to the attention that owners pay to their car’s appearance – 65 per cent of motorists carry out car care activities such as washing or vacuuming at least once a month.
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