October is TyreSafe Tyre Safety Month, created to highlight the importance of properly maintained tyres and the potential hazards of worn or unsuitable ones. If you hadn’t heard of Tyre Safety Month before, you still have a couple of weeks to read up on it and work out how you can participate. If you have participated before, read this article as a handy reminder of what to do and how to do it. Either way, please remember to spread the word.
Free Tyre Check
As the name suggests, Tyre Safety Month’s main objective is to ensure as many cars, caravans, motorhomes and other vehicles as possible are sporting safe tyres. To start off your involvement with the campaign, why not avail of one of the free tyre checks on offer? Even if you are fairly certain that your tyres are up to scratch, it can’t hurt to make sure and it may highlight some issues you weren’t yet aware of.
All you need to do is visit the TyreSafe website to find your nearest tyre dealer and get in touch with them to arrange your free tread, pressure and condition checks. Bear in mind that this doesn’t only apply to your car tyres – when did you last change those on your caravan? Are they within the recommended five year age limit?
The Truth about Tyre Pressure
You may not think that slightly soft tyres are too much of a concern; ok, they probably affect your fuel consumption but they can wait a while, right? Wrong! Incorrectly inflated tyres can pose a huge risk to you, your passengers and other people on the road.
By checking the tyres on your car, caravan or other vehicle once a week, you will be doing your bit to prevent avoidable road accidents and damage. As well as saving you money by improving your fuel consumption, correctly inflated tyres will last longer and improve your vehicle’s handing and braking. Imagine the potential chaos caused by your under-inflated tyre suffering a blow-out on the motorway!
We know you want to avoid that happening but, just in case you need more convincing, here are some facts about tyre pressure.
More than 1,100 road casualties in 2011 were caused by under-inflated, illegal or otherwise defective tyres.
As mentioned above, correctly inflated tyres last longer. This is due to the contact they have with the road surface – a soft tyre will experience pressure on the outer rim, leading to expedited wear and tear. According to industry experts, a tyre which is inflated to 80% of its optimum level will only last 75% as long as one which is properly maintained. At 60% inflation, you can expect just 35% of the tyre life.
Tyres which are maintained at their optimal inflation level require less energy to make them rotate. Between the lower fuel bills and the price of new tyres, the savings alone are worth being vigilant about tyre safety!
FACT: A 2012 survey of 28,000 drivers across Europe found that an astonishing 78% were driving on under-inflated tyres. Still dithering about booking that free tyre check?
Safety, savings and superior handling – three fantastic reasons to have your tyre pressure checked at least weekly and always before a long journey.
Did you know you don’t even need to visit a mechanic to check your tyre pressure? iPhone owners can do it whenever they find a few spare minutes, using TyreSafe’s free app, which can be downloaded here. The app will show you the ideal pressure level for your tyres, enabling you to easily and quickly rectify any difference at a petrol station air pump. If you don’t have an iPhone, you can do the same by entering your vehicle’s registration number into the TyreSafe website.
TyreSafe has also produced a video illustrating the facts about tyre pressure.
Tyre Safety Guides
While the basics of tyre safety, such as inflation levels and tread depth, are the same across the board, the specifics may vary depending on the vehicle you drive. If you would like to learn more about tyre safety for your vehicle, have a look at these fantastic guides, produced by Tyre Safe. Just click on the relevant link to download the PDF guide.
Caravan Tyre Safety Guide
Motorhome Tyre Safety Guide
Car Tyre Safety Guide
Van Tyre Safety Guide
Winter Weather Tyre Safety Guide
Part Worn Tyres Safety Guide
How to Get Involved With Tyre Safety Month
If you would like to participate in Tyre Safety Month and do your bit to spread the word and improve road safety, visit the TyreSafe website to register your interest. To help you to come up with an idea, some of the examples provided are as follows:
Organise an awareness day with a local business and the fire or police services
Arrange a tyre pressure check in your workplace’s car park
Order the Tyre Safety Month posters and other materials and display them in a prominent area at work
Contact the local media to make sure they are aware of the free tyre checks and can pass the information on
Share links to the Tyre Safety Month website on your personal or business Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn accounts
Add a link to the Tyre Safety Month website to your own personal or business site
Contact TyreSafe to share your own story about tyre safety. They can be contacted using the online contact form, via Twitter or through Facebook
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