TYRE SAFETY
Last year the Michelin Fill Up With Air campaign showed 35 per cent of motorists to be driving around on dangerously under inflated tyres. Yet despite the French manufacturer’s very worthwhile efforts, the tyre safety message just doesn’t seem to be sinking in – Michelin’s 2009 Fill Up With Air campaign results reveal that this figure has crept up to 36 per cent.
The US based Rubber Manufacturers Association has announced the dates for its ninth annual National Tire Safety Week. In 2010 the event, an initiative of the RMA's "Be Tire Smart – Play Your PART" programme, will be held between June 6 and 12.
You’d have to look under a fairly isolated rock to find someone unaware of the beating the transport industry has taken in 2009, but fewer people are aware that dwindling fleet vehicle purchases have also brought some benefits. Kwik-Fit Fleet is one firm to have gained from this effect of the recession Head of Kwik-Fit Fleet Mike Wise, when talking with Tyres & Accessories, reflects that the fleet industry has been for the last 15 or 16 months totally dominated by recession affected businesses looking to cut costs, and this has proven a boon to the fast fit services provider: “Since the recession struck in 2008, an increasing number of businesses have extended their fleet replacement cycles,” he explains. “Recession-induced lengthening fleet replacement cycles have provided a major business opportunity for Kwik-Fit Fleet as tyre consumption rises and an increasing volume of MOTs and service and repair work is required as vehicles move into their fourth year of operation and even longer.”
Micheldever Tyre Services and the AA, teamed up with the BBC to produce almost 18 minutes of BBC news coverage on Saturday 31 October. The coverage began on BBC 1, centring on the estimated 3.6 million illegal tyres running on UK roads, and was repeated on BBC News24 and the BBC website.
The BBC Breakfast news team filmed at the Micheldever’s Hampshire site, interviewing CEO Paul Fox, Marc Ainslie and a customer and pointing out the very real dangers of driving on bald or defective tyres.
Nearly 60 per cent of motorists would now consider buying part-worn or retread tyres for their cars, compared to just 35 per cent three years ago. That’s the conclusion of a study conducted by online tyre retailer Blackcircles.com, published to coincide with Tyre Safety Month. Publicising the conclusions of the data in an official statement, Blackcircles MD Mike Welch made the expected warnings about part worn quality, but made a surprising comparison with what he called “sub standard” retreads.
“Buying part worn tyres and retreads might seem like a thrifty alternative to new tyres but it’s vital that motorists also understand the risks. Part-worns and retreads are effectively second hand – they have already been used for an unspecified number of miles with a different vehicle and so are inherently sub-standard compared to brand new models,” Welch commented, adding:
Goodyear Dunlop Tires Europe has joined the European Road Safety Charter, a pan-European initiative with the aim to increase road safety across Europe. The signing ceremony took place in Gothenburg, Sweden on October 26, 2009, in the presence of the Swedish minister for enterprise, energy and communications, Åsa Torstensson, representatives from the European Commission and the ERSC Secretariat.
Residents in the former pottery town of Stoke-on-Trent, home to the UK’s premier tyre business magazine Tyres & Accessories, are being advised to be alert, as reports show that over 100 vehicles’ tyres have been slashed in the past seven weeks. Local newspaper The Sentinel reports that the Serial Slasher’s reign of (rubber) terror has so far been limited to Longton, where 73 cars have been damaged, and Stoke, in which 33 have been affected. Flummoxed police officers are appealing for help in catching the criminal, who is said to be using “either a knife or a sharp screwdriver” to slash or puncture tyres across the city.
A survey conducted by TyreSafe has again shone a spotlight onto the UK motoring public’s inability to regularly check tyre tread depth. The organisation probed a sample group of 1,552 company car drivers from across the UK and was astounded to find an alarming 25 per cent had never – ever – checked the depth of their vehicle’s tyre tread. A further 41 per cent had not deigned their own safety and that of others sufficient reason to kneel down and take a look under the wheel arches during the last six months. Yet, notes TyreSafe, responsibility for tyre safety on fleet vehicles is the responsibility of both companies and employees, and those not making the necessary checks face fines and other penalties. To simplify the task of checking tyre tread, companies are being encouraged to promote TyreSafe’s ‘lifesaver in your pocket’ initiative – which encourages simple monthly checks using a 20p coin – to their employees.
David Bavaird, director of Scrap Tyre Exchange, has created a programme called TEFORS (Tyre Education for Schools) designed to teach children how a tyre works, the importance of tyre safety and the benefits of tyre recycling. TEFORS programme was launched this week at Battle Hill Primary School in North Tyneside, whose programme has been sponsored by neighbouring North Eastern Tyre and Autocare’s (NETA) Silverlink retail outlet.
Gavin Marshall, managing director of NETA says they were delighted to be the first to commit to the programme: “North Eastern Tyres has outlets across the North East and we were thrilled to be invited to be the first to take up the opportunity of being the first sponsor of what looks like becoming a hugely successful scheme. TEFORS will bring to life subjects such as science, safety and green issues in the classroom and will allow us to play a much closer role within the community where our retail outlet sits. We are thrilled to be launching this with Battle Hill Primary School.”
Michelin recently held a three-day event in association with ATS Euromaster at the Motor Industry Research Association (MIRA) for one of its largest fleet customers, Lloyds TSB Autolease (now LEX Autolease). The objective, says the tyre-maker, was to raise awareness of the importance of tyres and tyre pressures in terms of safety and environmental impact. Each day, 25 of Lloyds TSB Autolease’s customers visited the test facility in Warwickshire to take part in interactive workshops covering subjects including tyre wear and damage, tyre construction and the steps Michelin is taking to reduce the environmental impact of its tyres throughout their life (from rubber plantation to disposal).
Tyre pressure monitoring systems will be fitted standard on all new cars from 2012, and according to a study supported by Northern Ireland based remote tyre pressure monitoring systems manufacturer Schrader Electronics, the majority of UK motorists support the use of systems similar to those the company produces. Results indicate the level of public support for TPMS hinges upon how quickly and readily a system notifies drivers of tyre pressure irregularities.
A voluntary recall has been issued on a number of sizes in Hankook Tire’s RA08 light commercial tyre range. The sizes included in the safety recall are 185/75R16C, 205/75R16C and 215/75R16C tyres produced at Hankook’s facility in Dunaujvaros, Hungary between April 2008 and June 2009.
New research conducted by safety organisation TyreSafe shows that drivers in East Anglia and the North West are among the most likely to be involved in a tyre related car accident. Nearly one in four drivers in these regions have never checked the depth of their tyre tread. TyreSafe's research was conducted in August 2009 among 1552 motorists across the UK and found drivers in Wales were found to be the most responsible. Here, 40 per cent claimed to have checked their tyre tread depth within the last month, the maximum period recommended between checks. This was closely followed by drivers in Scotland where nearly four in ten drivers performed checks.
As part of October’s tyre safety month, Quentin Willson is the face of a new online video demonstrating TyreSafe’s ‘lifesaver in your pocket’ initiative which encourages drivers to check their tyre tread depth to see if they are safe and legal with the use of a 20p coin. The video compares the breaking distance of tyres at 1mm and 2mm and shows a difference of 17 metres between the two.
“As we approach some of the wettest months of the year, it’s essential that drivers have sufficient tread depth to keep them safe and legal,” explains Willson. “Without it, they could find themselves in a life threatening accident, lose their licence and face a heavy fine. The simplicity of the 20p test means that there is absolutely no excuse why anyone should be found driving on tyres which have illegal tread depth.”
SEAT is backing October's National Tyre Safety Month with free tyre safety checks at participating dealers nationwide. The Spanish brand is backing the month-long push to improve road safety being run by TyreSafe, which is highlighting the risks posed by driving on tyres which have insufficient tread depth, making them both illegal and dangerous. SEAT is supporting the safety campaign by offering free tyre tread depth and pressure checks on all makes and models. SEAT's vehicle technicians will also offer free 32-point full vehicle health checks for those drivers who want to ensure their car is fit for the potentially gruelling winter ahead.
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