TYRE SAFETY
Following last weekend’s hotly anticipated Premier League match between Chelsea FC and Manchester United, more than 80,000 fans attending matches at Stamford Bridge during October have received timely reminders about checking the condition of their tyres.
The NTDA reports that it remains “firmly committed to its 3mm Tread Safety campaign, an initiative designed to raise awareness among motorists of the importance of changing tyres when they reach a 3mm tread depth rather than the lower, legal limit of 1.6mm, which was launched in partnership with Roadsafe in 2005.” The NTDA statement follows comments made by well-known manufacturer Michelin at the end of September in opposition to 3mm tread depth tyre change philosophies.
Following the success of the tyre safety awareness campaign run by Chelsea FC to a sell-out crowd of 42,000 fans at Stamford Bridge during last weekend’s 3-0 win against reigning Premier League Champions Leicester City, the club is set to raise awareness even further by extending the campaign to this weekend’s match against rivals Manchester United.
Chelsea became the first football club to join TyreSafe during this year’s Tyre Safety Month, and the football club has now announced that it will collaborate with its shirt sponsor, Yokohama Tyres, in a series of activities to raise awareness about tyre safety. Fans attending at this Saturday’s Premier League match between Chelsea and defending champions Leicester City will be reminded of the importance of checking their tyres.
Following up comments made at the Tyre Wholesale Group’s annual lunch on 5 October, NTDA chief executive Stefan Hay has called for a total ban on the sale of part-worn tyres. Speaking at the association’s Tyre Industry Conference, held at the VOX Conference Centre on Thursday 6 October 2016, Hay said previous attempts to enforce current laws through collaboration with trade bodies and enforcement agencies have not yielded the required results, leaving the association with little option but to harden its stance. Later the same day, NTDA chairman Roger Griggs reiterated the message during the association’s annual dinner.
The Department for Transport’s Reported Road Casualties Great Britain (RRCGB) analysis has revealed a reduction in casualties resulting from tyre-related incidents on Britain’s roads. 2015’s data shows a 28 per cent decrease in the number of people killed or seriously injured in tyre-related incidents with total casualties falling by 16.2 per cent when compared with 2014 figures. The results are good news for TyreSafe the day before the start of October’s Tyre Safety Month 2016; the latest figures mean there has been a 44 per cent decrease in all casualties caused by tyre-related incidents since the inception of Tyre Safety Month’s organiser, TyreSafe, in 2006.
While some manufacturers lobby for tyres to be replaced at 3 or even 4 mm, Michelin maintains that the current legal limit of 1.6 mm is “perfectly suited” to modern motoring and has reaffirmed its opposition to a change in the legislation. Indeed, during the course of the Paris Motor Show, Michelin’s top executives will be making this argument with journalists, OEMs and of course the public.
Associations including IAM Roadsmart and the European Tyre and Rubber Manufacturers’ Association (ETRMA) have been marking EDWARD “European Day Without A Road Death”. For its part ETRMA has been doing this by informing drivers on the importance of tyre choice and service conditions to improve road safety across Europe.
Michelin staff from Stoke-on-Trent have flown to the Republic of Ireland to train the Irish Police Service (An Garda Síochána) – teaching them about tyre safety and technology through a specially-developed course.
The in-depth programme also showed the Garda members how to identify when poor tyre maintenance could have contributed to accidents.
With children going back to the classroom and rush-hour traffic resuming, Bridgestone has urged motorists to take extra care on the school-run. The tyre manufacturer said that the latest TyreSafe research suggests that 10 million vehicles could be driven with at least one tyre under the minimum legal limit of 1.6mm. Coupling this with the new school term and an expected spike in traffic and Bridgestone believes that the time has never been more critical to carry out some simple tyre checks – or even drive to a selected garage to get a professional technician to take a look.
The East Midlands Operational Support Service (EMOpSS) has lent its support to TyreSafe, the UK’s charity dedicated to raising awareness of the importance of correct tyre maintenance and the dangers of defective and illegal tyres.
ATS Euromaster’s Dunstable centre has won an International Safety Award from the British Safety Council. The centre was nominated by Andy Drake, Health and Safety Advisor at ATS Euromaster, following a routine assessment where the team was found to have an exceptional commitment to safety.
More than a third (37.2%) of drivers who called out the AA to fit new tyres were either driving with tread depths below the 1.6mm legal minimum (9.6%) – or were on the limit (27.6%), according to the latest data from the AA. The AA analysed thousands of call outs in 2016 to its team of specialist tyre fitters – providing a snapshot of the state of tyres on Britain’s roads.
Yokohama has won TyreSafe’s Tyre Manufacturer Award in recognition of its efforts promoting tyre safety in the UK. As a long-standing supporter of TyreSafe, Yokohama carried out a series of high-profile activities with Chelsea Football Club during last year’s tyre safety month, which took the industry’s tyre safety messages to a new audience in a dynamic and engaging manner.
This week, with more commuter-sized motorcycles and scooters being sold than ever before, TyreSafe has unveiled dedicated materials to help keep riders safe on their daily travels. Launched to coincide with the Motorcycle Industry Association’s (MCIA) Ride to Work Week, the potentially life-saving advice for scooter commuters includes choosing the right tyre, essential routine maintenance and understanding when a replacement should be fitted.
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