US tyre safety week to have largest participation ever

ERJ staff report (TB)

Washington DC -- More than 21,000 tyre retailers, auto dealers and auto service nations across the US will participate in the eighth annual National Tire Safety Week June 7-13, making this the largest ever participation in the event, according to the US-based Rubber Manufacturers Association (RMA).

Participating retailers will distribute more than 5.5 million “Be Tire Smart” brochures outlining the importance of proper tyre inflation, tire rotation and monitoring tread depth, the association said.

The most recent RMA survey on consumer tire knowledge still showed that motorists have a long way to go to become “tyre smart,” according to an RMA statement. The survey, which collected tyre pressure data on 5,478 vehicles in 14 metropolitan areas, showed that 50 percent of all vehicles have at least one underinflated tyre, and only 9 percent had four properly inflated tyres. Thirty-eight percent of vehicles had one tyre 4 psi (0.275 bar) or more under the recommended pressure, 26 percent had one tyre 6 psi (0.4 bar) or more underinflated and 19 percent had one tyre 8 psi (0.55 bar) or more underinflated.

Federally mandated tyre pressure monitoring systems warn motorists only when a tyre is 25 percent or more underinflated. In many cases, even an underinflation of 8 psi would not trigger the TPMS warning light, which demonstrates the continuing need for motorists to check their own tyres, the RMA said.

In addition to the tyre brochures, the RMA is distributing four radio public service announcements on National Tire Safety Week to 3,000 radio stations nationwide. Two of the radio spots feature NASCAR driver David Ragan. The commercials and other information on National Tire Safety Week can be found at www.betiresmart.org.

Tire dealers participating in the tire inflation survey included Sullivan Tire and Auto; National Tire and Battery; Discount Tire Co.; Autotire; Les Schwab Tire; Pep Boys; and Tire Kingdom.

From Tire Business (A Crain publication)