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Tyre pressures are wasting fuel and dangerous says Michelin

01/12/2008    

60% OF BRITISH MOTORISTS ARE DRIVING ON UNDER-INFLATED TYRES

Michelin has found that motorists are still ignoring the safety and economic benefits of having correctly inflated tyres with more than 60% of cars on British roads running with incorrect tyre pressures and 35% having dangerously under-inflated tyres risking an accident, according to the Company’s nationwide inspection survey.

The Michelin “Fill up with Air” roadshow has travelled throughout the UK and Ireland checking and adjusting drivers’ tyre pressures in a campaign to highlight the potential safety benefits, fuel savings and reduced emissions that are directly related to having the car’s tyre pressures correctly set.

Results in previous years showed 80% of British drivers to be negligent in this area. Some improvement has been seen in 2008 but still too many drivers are not undertaking the simple task of regularly maintaining their tyre pressures.

The Fill up with Air roadshow visited 17 locations in the UK and Ireland and checked more than 2,600 vehicles.

• 65% had incorrect pressures, including 7% over inflated
• 35% were found to have dangerously*1 low pressures, with 10% very dangerous*2
• 5% had a puncture

Having the correct pressures in your tyres – the only contact between your car and the road – is essential for safety and efficiency. Under-inflated tyres can be dangerous; running 30% below the recommended pressures gives a sharp increase in the risk of aquaplaning on wet roads. Low pressure also affects the car’s handling and reduces cornering ability, and can cause a build up of excess heat that can permanently weaken the tyre’s structure, possibly causing it to fail.

Twenty per cent of a car’s fuel consumption, or one tank in every five, is used to overcome the rolling resistance of tyres. Low tyre pressures increase this resistance force, leading to increased fuel consumption, CO2 emissions and tyre wear.

“The Michelin message to Fill up with Air needs to get through,” says Peter Snelling, Head of Communications at Michelin UK. “With petrol prices hurting everyone and the overall cost of motoring rising, it makes so much sense to regularly attend to this very simple maintenance job. Checking and correcting tyre pressures once a month and before long journeys can save lives as well as money.”

Michelin’s Fill up with Air road-show is run in full support of the DfT’s Act on CO2 campaign.

*1 more than 7psi(0.5bar) below recommended pressure
*2 more than 14psi(1bar) below recommended pressure
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