Motorists Risking Their Lives by Neglecting Tyre Pressures

Largest ever tyre pressure survey shows majority of motorists are
compromising safety.

Government backs tyre safety campaign.

The dramatic findings of an important road safety survey have pointed
to a very worrying picture of UK motoring. The largest ever tyre
pressure and tyre safety study undertaken in the UK, carried out by
supporters of TyreSafe, the UK’s leading tyre safety organisation,
revealed that almost three quarters of all cars on the country’s roads
have tyres that are under-inflated.

The survey also showed that a quarter of these vehicles have at least one tyre that is either illegal, having a tread depth below 1.6mm, or
badly worn. The impact on road collisions of these figures is
reflected in recent government figures which indicated that
under-inflated or defective tyres are responsible for more than a
third of all road crashes resulting in injury.

Severely deflated tyres pose a serious safety risk says TyreSafe, as a
vehicle’s handling can be adversely affected leading to a potential
accident. Under-inflated tyres and bad driving practice are equally
costing motorists over £2 billion in extra fuel, and release 5.5
million tons of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere – the equivalent
of a quarter of the annual CO2 output of a coal burning power station.

These statistics come ahead of Tyre Safety Month, the first nationwide
campaign of its kind to be promoted by the tyre industry in Britain,
which starts today (1st October) and runs to the end of the month.
Part of the initiative is designed to encourage motorists to visit
participating tyre retailers, garages and franchise dealers displaying
a TyreSafe poster, to take advantage of free tyre pressure and safety
checks which extend throughout the four week period.

Furthermore, the campaign is being backed by motoring journalist and
presenter of Channel 5 Fifth Gear motoring programme, Vicki
Butler-Henderson: "Drivers are clearly not aware of the dangers of
driving a car with severely under- inflated tyres. I have recently
been testing cars with under-inflated and worn tyres and the
combination is potentially deadly, said Vicki: "In a skid you become a
passenger and the consequences are possible serious injury to
yourself, your passengers and other road users. I would encourage all
drivers to regularly check their tyres for tread depth and pressure.
Your life may depend upon it!"

The TyreSafe campaign has also received government support. Road
Safety Minister Jim Fitzpatrick said: "Keeping tyres at the right
pressure is not only vital for staying safe on the road, it also makes
the car more environmentally friendly and helps save on fuel costs.
Under inflated tyres create more resistance when your car is moving,
which means that your engine has to work harder, so more fuel is used
and more CO2 emissions are produced. I welcome this initiative and
urge motorists to take advantage of the free tyre safety and pressure
checks being offered by participating tyre retailers."

According to TyreSafe, up to 90% of drivers do not know their correct
tyre pressures. The tyre safety organisation has therefore introduced
a facility on their website (www.tyresafe.org), with support from
Experian, which enables motorists to log their registration number and
receive the correct tyre pressures for the tyres on their car.

Source: auto2000.co.id