Tyre Safety Month
Spanish vehicle manufacturer Seat is showing its support for Tyre Safety Month’s emphasis on winter safety with a campaign highlighting the benefits of winter tyres. The campaign will be run through more than 120 Seat dealers in the UK and explain to customers the main features of and qualities of these cold weather products – features familiar to those in the tyre industry but still an unknown for much of the British motoring public.
Next month is tyre safety month, and this year TyreSafe plans to focus on winter safety. This theme is being supported by a new online video released by the tyre safety organisation; the short film, titled ‘Stay Safe This Winter’, was shot on an ice rink and highlights the enormous difference in performance between winter weather and standard summer tyres. Through this film, TyreSafe is keen to stress that winter tyres, as opposed to just being snow and ice tyres, really come into their own when the air temperature drops below seven degrees Celsius – a temperature usually experienced throughout the UK between October and March.
Yesterday (7 September, 2011) marked the first TyreSafe quarterly industry briefing, during which chairman Stuart Jackson and a range of guest speakers spoke of the organisation’s past and future work in promoting tyre safety in the UK. In preparation for this October’s tyre safety month, TyreSafe has launched its new website, www.tyresafe.org – introduced by Jackson during the briefing – which includes a cleaner layout, easier navigation, and access to a range of media resources, such as new animated videos of the crash test dummy family the McIntyres explaining how motorists can examine tyres at home.
TyreSafe has announced that it will begin quarterly communications briefings on 7 September, issuing an open invitation to existing TyreSafe members and other interested parties such as road safety professionals, fleets or even company HR managers. The briefing will tackle the organisation’s upcoming campaigns, launching campaign materials for this October’s tyre safety month, the organisation’s new website and a range of online resources, and is designed to allow members and non-members alike to plan and integrate their own activities around them. Anybody wishing to attend the free event can do so by registering with TyreSafe by calling 01787 226995.
TyreSafe chairman Stuart Jackson has presented its annual award to PC Shaun McKeown, Forensic Vehicle Examiner for Cumbria Police Collision Investigation Unit, and Sgt Graeme Hodgson from the Roads Policing Unit at the Tyre Recovery Association’s annual dinner held at St Johns Hotel in Solihull on 17 June. Jackson said: “Our thanks go to Cumbria Constabulary for its relentless drive in supporting tyre safety. Not only has it been a great partner behind the scenes but has also been at the fore in many of our initiatives, as well as promoting those of its own.
UK tyre safety campaign group TyreSafe is currently running its motorcycle-specific tyre safety month to coincide with the commencement of the riding season – welcomed in by the excellent weather in the UK this weekend. The organisation is highlighting the 82 motorcycle accidents in 2009 where illegal, defective or underinflated tyres were a contributory factor (Department for Transport figures). Although this number represents a slight decrease on 2008, each one is an avoidable accident, says Stuart Jackson, chairman, TyreSafe.
The motorcycling season is just around the corner and riders nationwide are already preparing their bikes and scooters for a return to the road. This includes, of course, checking the rubber. Information from Protyre highlights a need for close scrutiny in this department: The independent retailer regularly deals with riders, and based on this experience it indicates that up to 70 per cent of motorcycles and scooters visiting Protyre premises have at least one tyre that is either defective or badly worn and in need of replacement. Protyre comments that these findings reinforce information from VOSA that shows defective tyres to be the fourth most frequent cause of motorcycle MOT failure in the UK.
With spring weather arriving in much of the UK this week, tyre safety organisation TyreSafe has launched its annual Bike Tyre Safety Month campaign, with a range of free promotional materials available to download at www.tyresafe.org/bikesafety. Campaign posters can be used to promote free tyre safety checks and a safety leaflet is aimed at informing and educating riders about the importance of ongoing tyre maintenance.
UK tyre safety campaign group TyreSafe has announced that the Highways Agency has become a full member, following its endorsement of last October’s tyre safety month campaign. By becoming a full member, the Highways Agency will be represented at the group’s regular board meetings, helping to improve dialogue and collaboration between the organisations, says TyreSafe. Additionally, it will become involved in a number of tyre safety related activities throughout the year.
National Tyres and Autocare has opted to re-stock its 210 retail branches exclusively with Klarius type-approved exhausts made in the UK, according to the exhaust maker. National will also be stocking Klarius replacement CATs, Lambda sensors and Diesel Particulate Filters (DPFs).
Toyota and Lexus became the latest vehicle manufacturers to join tyre safety organisation, TyreSafe, helping the group reach a dozen vehicle manufacturer members helping to raise standards of tyre care and maintenance through driver education and engagement. “It’s wonderful to receive the support and backing of two fantastic brands such as Toyota and Lexus,” comments Stuart Jackson, chairman of TyreSafe. “We have seen very positive results from the excellent contributions made by our other vehicle manufacturer members and we are looking forward to the two new members becoming equally involved.”
In the midst of TyreSafe’s annual Tyre Safety month honestjohn.co.uk, is drawing attention to consumer disquiet when it comes to tyre foam kits. A survey of visitors to the Honestjohn.co.uk website suggests that an overwhelming 91 per cent of respondents said they would prefer to have a spare tyre and almost the same number (86 per cent) said that they would rather have a spare tyre than their vehicle having lower CO2 emissions.
Continuing this October’s Tyre Safety Month, TyreSafe is publicising the thoughts of two “Wheel Heroes”; emergency service professionals who explain why they are supporting tyre safety month. The duo is a fire fighter who will “never forget a fatal minibus crash involving a youth soccer team” and a policeman “who attended an accident where a young nurse lost her life due to an under-inflated tyre”.
Many UK readers of tyrepress.com will have woken up this morning to temperatures approaching freezing point; before the morning drive in Stoke-on-Trent, the hometown of Tyres & Accessories Towers, the sudden need to root out the ice-scraper and turn the blowers up high did not go un-noted. With temperatures to continue in this vein throughout the week, will UK drivers’ thoughts extend beyond the purchase of a new can of demister and head towards the tyres, just as last year’s cold weather brought on a rush to fit more suitable rubber for the conditions?
This October’s tyre safety month has received a significant boost after the Highways Agency announced that it is backing the campaign month for the first time. Ginny Clarke, director of network services for the Highways Agency, said: “The Highways Agency is pleased to be backing TyreSafe as they launch this year’s tyre safety month. The simple 20p test is an essential part of preparing for your journey. By checking that tyres are still in good condition, drivers are helping to avoid accidents, and the risk of delays to their journey as a result.”
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