Formula One Autocentres has moved up a gear this month, celebrating its latest expansion programme in the Norwich area. Creating 12 new jobs for the city, the family-run business opened the doors of its newest centre (81 Barn Road, Norwich) on 19 November. To celebrate this latest development programme, the company drove down prices with a selection of tremendous opening offers.
Hi-Q, is offering free motoring health checks this winter in an effort avoid the kind of car problems that leave drivers out in the cold. With this winter forecast to be one of the coldest in over a decade, many more demands are going to be made of drivers and vehicles.
With some weather forecasters expecting a cold winter, Stapletons Tyre Services is urging motorists to ensure their vehicles and tyres are in tip-top condition to brave through the icy winter roads. Stapletons retail centres across the country are offering motorists a free winter check on their vehicles.
Data from the NTDA’s TyreCheck survey shows that just under 20 per cent of tyres are not replaced until the tread depth is worn to below 1.6mm. Members of the association inspected over 10,000 cars brought into their premises during the period of the TyreCheck. All the tyres, including the spare, were checked for tread depth, visual condition and pressure.
Almost one-in-five women drivers boycott Britain’s motorways for fear of breaking down, a survey shows. More than two-and-a-half million refuse to drive on motorways, resulting in travelling an extra 384 miles each a year, according to research conducted by insurance company Direct Line.
Online tyre company rubberball.co.uk has published research showing that 10 per cent of British motorists will be driving with at least one faulty tyre this winter. Only 9 per cent of drivers surveyed were aware that the minimum legal tread depth is 1.6 millimetres and a further 10 per cent believed that their tyres were still safe below this level.
ATS Euromaster is tapping into the new wave of mobile phone commerce by providing an SMS service to keep fleet drivers moving.
Motorists can now text “tyres” to 82025 to locate their nearest ATS Euromaster service centre and will receive details such as the depot’s address, contact details and the exact straight-line distance from the position of the mobile phone. Though free, users will be charged the standard texting rate set out by their service provider.
Varta Automotive Batteries is offering a workshop battery check to the trade in order to assist them to maximise user sales as the winter battery replacement season begins.
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The Motor Industry Research Association has conducted further tests that highlight the importance of adequate tread depth on vehicle tyres.
Independent braking tests were carried out to measure stopping distances and cornering performance of car tyres on wet road surfaces. According to the safety body the results showed “conclusively” that both stopping distances and cornering performance “noticeably deteriorated well before the end of a tyre’s life.”
As the busy summer holiday motoring season draws to a close Kwik-Fit is offering motorists a free battery check-up, explaining that even though most batteries die in the winter, it’s actually the summer that inflicts most of the damage.
According to Kwik-Fit, on a hot summer’s day – with the engine running – temperatures under the bonnet can reach up to 90 degrees centigrade. This extra heat causes the chemical reaction within a car battery to speed up and in older batteries this can lead to a total failure.
Roadsafe has organised a ‘Tread Safely Week’ as part of the UK’s 3mm replacement campaign to take place from 3 – 9 October 2005. An information pack has also been issued in conjunction with this, urging motorists to change their tyres before they reach the legal limit of 1.6mm.
Tread Safely week will see Roadsafe undertaking targeted press activity, broadcast interviews and consumer roadshows to bring home the message of the importance of checking tyre tread depth and considering taking action to replace tyres which could underperform in an emergency situation.
The TIC’s tyre safety awareness campaign is once again taking up the challenge of raising through a series of tyre checks on the roads of the North West of England next month.
The four principle police forces in the North West – Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside – will combine with the council to mount a hard hitting campaign detailing the increased risk of having an accident, particularly in the wet, if a vehicle has worn tyres. Recent research by the AA Motoring Trust indicates that worn tyres contribute to one in ten accidents in wet conditions.
Kwik-Fit has shocked UK tyre industry members by withdrawing its support from the Tyre Industry Council. An associate member for the past 12 years, the retail chain has announced that it will not renew its membership.
The company is keeping its reasons behind the decision within its four walls, but has issued the following statement: “We are supportive of the TIC’s aims and ambitions. After a number of years working with the TIC and with the many new challenges facing our industry, it is now time to change the way we provide our support, promote tyre safety awareness and raise the standards of service to the benefit of all motorists.”
Goodyear has teamed up with a number of motoring organisations to launch its ‘Drive Home Safely’ initiative. Together the group has arranged a dedicated website and road show to reduce motorists’ fears of coping with difficult driving situations.
Situations such as being followed, breaking down on the motorway alone at night, or having items stolen from their car are those being addressed by the campaign. In London during the first six months of 2005, there were almost 1,000 reported incidents of theft from, or damage to, vehicles according to the Metropolitan Police Service crime statistics.
The manufacturer intends the official website, www.drivehomesafely.co.uk, to act as a one-stop source of information for anyone affected by road security issues.
According to Cooper Tires 4×4 tyre sales have increased by a staggering 151 per cent in the last five years. In 2004, there were 1.25 million 4×4 tyres sold throughout the UK, a jump from 825,000 in 2000.
Factors such as 4×4 fashions and the increasing number of “Chelsea tractors” in town and city centers are thought to have influenced this growth. Other trends such as the replacement of standard manufacturer fitted wheels and tyres with larger sizes are also affecting the market.
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