More than a quarter of Britain's cars have at least one dangerously underinflated tyre, finds tyre safety pilot study
The study was carried out by technology company WheelRight, Welcome Break Services and backed by Highways England on the UK’s M6.
The study used WheelRight’s ‘drive-over’ tyre pressure technology to take nearly 155,000 readings and assess driver attitudes and tyre pressure awareness levels among car and commercial vehicle drivers in the UK.
According to figures released by the Road Safety Observatory in April 2014, the UK currently sees approximately 25 deaths and 1,500 serious injuries yearly due to poorly inflated or defective tyres. Furthermore, Highways England data reveals that 21% of all breakdowns that occur could be attributed to a wheel or tyre defect.
Following the successful pilot project at Keele, WheelRight is currently in discussion with several parties in the UK, continental Europe and the USA, who are interested in adopting the tyre pressure monitoring technology.
John Catling, chief executive of WheelRight, said: “We would like to thank Highways England and Welcome Break for their support in enabling our pilot to take place. The year-long test at Keele really proved the concept could work in a real-world situation, giving potential users confidence in the reliability and accuracy of our award-winning technology.”
Natalie Middleton
Natalie has worked as a fleet journalist for over 20 years, previously as assistant editor on the former Company Car magazine before joining Fleet World in 2006. Prior to this, she worked on a range of B2B titles, including Insurance Age and Insurance Day.
