The road safety message is one that can never be taught too early, and for several years Bridgestone has encouraged children to express their understanding of the issue creatively. This year the tyre major is again holding its “dreams at heArt” children’s drawing contest as part of its global “safety at heArt” activities, and all children in Europe up to age 11 are eligible to enter.
On January 15 Michelin announced the 2009 theme for its global vehicle design competition, the Michelin Challenge Design (MCD). As part of the latest competition, the French tyremaker is asking entrants to explore the future of transportation and share their vision of ‘America’s Next Iconic Vehicle.’ Designers this year are asked to render unique vehicle concepts that demonstrate emotional appeal, design courage and technical execution when reviewed by a jury of transportation industry professionals, whose names will be announced later in 2008. Additional consideration will be given to entries with attributes that benefit safety and the environment and include a separate rendering of the tyre and wheel component assembly.
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One in ten people who drive for work have admitted falling asleep at the wheel in the past year, according to new research by road safety charity Brake and Green Flag. The shocking figure is more than twice as high as the number of drivers who don’t drive for work but who say they have fallen asleep in the past year, which is still an alarmingly high one in 25 drivers. Nodding off for just a second or two at the wheel can kill: travelling at 60mph on a motorway (one of the main types of road where fatigue commonly occurs), a driver covers 27 metres (88 feet) per second.
One of the main causes of nodding off at the wheel is insufficient sleep the night before. The research has found that people who drive for work are more likely to drive after insufficient sleep. Half of the people who drive for work who were surveyed say they sometimes drive after less than five hours’ sleep, compared to just over a third (35 per cent) of people who drive only outside work. Research shows that if you drive after less than five hours’ sleep, you have just a one in ten chance of staying fully awake on a lengthy journey.
Motorists in the Lancashire town of Skelmersdale claim that the large number of roundabouts in the town is the cause of premature tyre wear, which is both expensive and potentially dangerous. Apparently, Skelmersdale boasts more than 40 roundabouts, including Half Mile Island, which is said to be the biggest in the world and taxi drivers and tyre fitters have reported extremely high rates of tyre wear. Said John Kieran, of Skelmersdale Express Tyres: “All the cabbies constantly have to have their tyres turned around because they wear out so quickly, especially on the outside of the passenger side”.
Cabbie Steven Crawley reckons the roundabouts in Skelmersdale wear his tyres down so much he gets through about six sets a year. He said: “My tyres only last about two months at the most and I have to turn them around every six weeks”. So widespread is the problem that it has been given the name of the “Skem Rash”.
The FIA (Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile) has awarded Bosch its internationally acclaimed “FIA World Prize for Road Safety, the Environment and Mobility” in recognition of the contribution Bosch has made to global road safety through its ESP safety system. On December 7 FIA President Max Mosley presented the trophy to the CEO of Robert Bosch GmbH, Franz Fehrenbach, at the FIA gala in Monaco.
“Bosch has played a pivotal role in the development and promotion of the most effective car safety system since the invention of the safety belt,” Mosley explained. In his acceptance speech, Fehrenbach replied: “This prize is a distinction for all our associates: for the engineers who developed the system, for the associates in our plants who have been producing this system to the highest quality standards for many years now, and not least for the marketing experts who have never tired of communicating the benefits of this system.” The FIA World Prize is presented every year to a person or an organisation that has made an outstanding contribution in the areas of road safety, the environment or mobility.
On November 26 Continental AG added its signature to the European Road Safety Charter, a document outlining the goal to halve the number of fatalities on roads within the European Union by the year 2010; in other words, a reduction to 25,000 from 50,000 EU road deaths recorded in 2004. With the signatures of Continental’s board executive Dr. Hans-Joachim Nikolin and the European Commission Vice President, Jacques Barrot, Continental AG commits itself to supporting this initiative.
“For years now Continental has been engaged in the development of intelligent automotive safety systems and in initiation of educational and research projects, including programs aimed at children and young people, all of which is intended to improve European road safety,” underscored Dr. Nikolin at the ceremony in Brussels. “Our signature under the European Road Safety Charter moves us closer to realisation of Vision Zero. For us that means making future road traffic even safer.”
HiQ, is lending its support to the Metropolitan Police in an effort to increase road safety. HiQ’s presence at a recent field test day in Essex allowed collision investigators from across the UK to carry out a series of vehicle handling exercises. A team from local fast fit centre, HiQ Strood, were on hand to change tyres and lower tyre pressure on a range of vehicles being used in the tyre pressure handling and wheel locking exercises.
The event organised on behalf of the Institute of Traffic Accident Investigators promoted the free and open exchange of knowledge between those involved in the field of investigating road traffic accidents.
Michelin has extended its comprehensive road safety programmes to include sponsorship of the first ever UK Road Safety Expo, which takes place in London on 22 November. Road Safety Expo ’07 is a new event combining a conference and exhibition designed to highlight the latest developments in technology and the future strategy for road safety educational campaigns.
Jim Fitzpatrick, MP, the Parliamentary Under Secretary with responsibility for road safety will deliver the keynote speech and other speakers will represent all major road safety campaigns, including Think! and Roadsafe.
On October 18 the European Tyre and Rubber Manufacturers’ Association (ETRMA) delivered to the European Commissioner for Enterprise, Günther Verheugen, its letter of commitment concerning the reduction of environmental impact resulting from tyres and further measures to increase road safety.
With this document the Association, chaired by Pirelli Tyre managing director Francesco Gori, commits itself to lowering tyre noise levels by two decibels while also contributing to a reduction of up to 5 grams per kilometre in CO2 emissions caused by motor vehicle traffic. This will be achieved through a range of measures including promotion of lower rolling resistance tyres and a recommendation for the fitment of tyre pressure monitoring systems to all cars.
Looking for the latest in nitrogen inflation? Perhaps you should make a pit stop at PCL’s booth (35428) at SEMA. Headlining this year’s show is Accura Mobile – a brand new portable Nitrogen (N2) tyre inflation cart.
Featuring the same accuracy as the rest of PCL’s Accura range, Accura Mobile features an N2 “convert and purge” of air inflated tyres and a “top-up” of nitrogen inflated tyres. It can be used with either an N2 bottle or generator. With six hose outlets for multi tyre inflation it can provide high speed on site or off site inflation and is especially designed for US applications.
The national tyre safety month campaign being arranged by TyreSafe for October, has received support from the Forecourt Division of the Federation of Petroleum Suppliers, formerly GarageWatch. The organisation represents the independent forecourt sector with some 6,400 forecourts throughout the UK.
With America’s tyre manufacturers and retailers still unhappy with the National Highway Transport and Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) rule-making on TPMS, signs are that Europe too will soon require its new vehicles to be equipped with tyre pressure monitoring systems. To be fair to America’s tyre people, they have not resisted TPMS. Quite the contrary, the argument is over the fact that the mandatory system proposed by the NHTSA would permit up to a 25 per cent air loss before the TPMS warning light would come on. The tyre industry to its credit has argued for a tighter standard than this.
VOSA is strengthening its brand by the addition of the MOT three triangles to the current brand. The phased introduction of the new brand identity began on 3 September 2007. Stephen Tetlow, CEO for VOSA said: “The MOT three triangles is a well recognised brand, which is used across all MOT test stations and increasingly used by other organisations to symbolise reassuring checks on standards. Capitalising on the use of the three triangles will help a wider audience to recognise VOSA and will help reinforce the role it plays in improving road safety.” In order to reinforce VOSA’s message there will also be a strapline used on written material “Saving lives, safer roads, cutting crime, protecting the environment.”
A Lancashire tyre dealership is celebrating back-to-back success at a local country show after impressing judges with a colourful stand promoting road safety. It is the second year running Cabus-based Roadrunner Tyres has secured the ‘best trade display’ accolade at the annual Great Eccleston Agricultural Show.
The First Stop dealership used this year’s event (14/15 July) to support network partner Bridgestone’s global Think Before You Drive campaign, which encourages motorists to regularly check the pressure, grip and condition of their tyres. Employees were joined by a crash test dummy, who helped technicians pass on vital safety advice. The Roadrunner Tyres team also used the event to raise awareness of its specialist off-road and agricultural tyre services.
In keeping with the company’s global policy of promoting road safety, Michelin has launched a major campaign in China, a move the company views as important in light of the country’s rapidly expanding motorway network. Michelin’s Chinese campaign is based on two initiatives:
The first of these is a short television programme called the Michelin Safety Club. Company mascot Bibendum takes on the role of presenter for this show, offering information and advice on road safety. This four-minute presentation will be broadcast on various TV channels in six Chinese provinces during automotive news programs, reaching an estimated target audience of about 5 million people.
Complementing the television campaign is a 58-page booklet, the Michelin Safety Brochure. With a print run of 50 000 copies, this brochure will provide a variety of information and advice on road safety. It will be distributed to Michelin China personnel, to students of driving schools in Shanghai, Beijing and Shenyang, as well as to consumers through Michelin brand distributors in China.
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