Bridgestone is embarking on a tyre safety drive with Cardiff motorists, after 75% admitted to never checking their tyres and only 11% described them as the most important safety feature on their cars.
A survey amongst 200 drivers across the capital revealed that despite tyres being the only contact points between a vehicle and the road – and responsible for 159 deaths or serious injuries from defective tyres related accidents – Cardiff motorists didn’t deem them to be as important as airbags (27%).
The results coincide with TyreSafe’s National Tyre Safety Month taking place throughout October, which aims to raise awareness about the benefits and importance of regular tyre checks.
Other headline statistics from Bridgestone’s research include 59% not knowing that driving on illegal tyres is an extremely dangerous act and literally no motorists checking their tyre treads once a fortnight, which is the recommended period.
The Bridgestone results tie in with a recording of 4,596 total casualties from tyre-related incidents on roads in the past years and there is an estimated 10 million illegal tyres on Britain’s roads each year.
Cars equipped with budget tyres can take an extra 14 metres to stop in wet conditions when driving at 70mph compared to cars with ‘premium brand’ tyres3. Under-inflated tyres will also have an impact on stopping distances4, as will cars with poorly maintained brakes.