TYRE SAFETY
Its summer holiday time and for many this means a long car trip. For some this also means tyre problems – Department for Transport data shows July to be the month when tyre-related incidents are at their highest. Indeed, one third of all tyre-related incidences in the UK occur during the summer months.
Bridgestone has been named Tyre Manufacturer of the Year honour at the TyreSafe Awards 2018. The manufacturer prevailed in the competitive category thanks to a number of safety initiatives and pro-active partnerships, which were noted by a panel of independent judges.
Yokohama has been presented with its third award from TyreSafe, the UK’s tyre safety charity, at its annual dinner. In taking TyreSafe’s Highly Commended Award, Yokohama secured its third consecutive win from the charity, having taken the Tyre Manufacturer Award for the previous two years.
Motorists from Oxford are the unluckiest drivers in the country – picking up the most punctures, dents, scrapes and parking tickets than anyone else, according to a new study. Researchers polled British drivers and discovered that people from the university city, home to Jaguar driving Inspector Morse, consider themselves to have the least luck when it comes to motoring.
The Spring Bank Holiday weekend is fast approaching and for most schools in England and Wales, it also means half term, signalling millions of drivers loading up their cars to get away for a week’s well-earned rest or a visit to family and friends. Around 30 per cent of Britons stayed in the UK for their holidays in 2017, and this figure is expected to be similar this year. The message from TyreSafe is – whether your car is packed for the day or the week, it’s vital to check your tyres before you leave to minimise the risk of a tyre-related incident.
Worn tyres find use in many applications – they may serve as playground swings or as fenders on a wharf. They’re often invisible in plain sight, however Nokian Tyres intends to take advantage of their ubiquity. The tyre maker has placed tyre safety information on repurposed old tyres all around its home market of Finland.
Simple checks could prevent almost three-quarters of motorway incidents related to tyre failure. This is one of the conclusions of an 18-month study conducted by Bridgestone and Highways England. More than 30 people were killed or seriously injured in motorway accidents in 2016 due to illegal or faulty tyres.
Confusion over what to look and feel for when checking tyres is not unfamiliar. But Goodyear’s new campaign has recruited an unlikely ally to boost tyre safety knowledge amongst drivers.
Roads Minister Jesse Norman has announced the government is investing a reported £250,000 in the first publicly funded research into tyre ageing. On 1 March a Department for Transport statement said it has commissioned “independent scientific research which will provide a fuller picture on the safety of tyres as they get older”.
GT Radial and Poulton-Le-Fylde tyre retailer Carleton Tyres and Exhaust Centre have teamed up to host a women only tyre safety event. The companies hosted 24 female customers at Carleton’s Bipsham Road premises, presenting a general tyre safety overview, including advice on checking tyres, measuring tread depths, legal limits and stopping distances.
The Daily Telegraph Motoring column, Honest John, has recently produced an article detailing the cars with the greatest MOT failure rates in the UK, along with the regions with vehicles most likely to fail the test. Analysis of more than 400m MOT records from the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) by consumer website HonestJohn.co.uk shows that one in six cars fails its first test, with brakes, lighting and tyres among the most-common reasons.
In the three months since the Tyred Campaign for a ban of all tyres older than ten years on all commercial vehicles launched, support has been forthcoming from a broad base of sources. Powerful and influential people in business and politics getting behind Tyred include Maria Eagle MP; Steve Rotherham, Liverpool Metro Mayor; Stefan Hay, CEO – National Tyre Distributors Association (NTDA); and Vinay Parmar, executive director of National Express Coaches.
TyreSafe has started the 2017 Tyre Safety Month with a question: Are you having a Good or Bad Air Day? The organisation is taking on the rampant underinflation of tyres in the UK; its figures show that more than half the tyres on Britain’s cars and vans are being driven at lower pressure than required.
The latest figures from the Department for Transport in its annual Reported Road Casualties Great Britain report show the number of people killed or seriously injured in tyre-related incidents fell to 158 from 162. Slight injuries were also down meaning the total number of casualties was 876, its lowest level recorded. Following the welcome but slight decrease in casualties caused by tyre-related incidents in 2016, TyreSafe is urging drivers and stakeholders to continue their efforts, not become complacent. Indeed, Scottish figures were significantly worse than 12 months ago.
For the second year in succession, Yokohama has been awarded TyreSafe’s Tyre Manufacturer Award in recognition of its efforts, achievements and innovative approach in promoting tyre safety in the UK.
Having initially secured the award last year, Yokohama built on the success of its original campaign by utilising its partnership with Chelsea Football Club throughout 2016 to generate further high-profile awareness of tyre safety issues with Premier League football fans, and creating a powerful call to action, encouraging fans to check their tyres for a safe journey home.
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