Van contract hirers could be wasting fuel on underinflated tyres
Monday 26 April 2010 Back to Blog
Underinflated tyres could be costing van contract hirers money, a new report has found.
According to TyreSafe, drivers in Britain are losing an estimated £0.7 billion of fuel each year, as well as taking unnecessary safety risks.
The campaign group carried out tests on 4,500 vehicles over a three-month period and discovered that 36 per cent had dangerously underinflated tyres.
Tyres in this state need more force in order to turn, meaning more petrol is needed. They are also a safety-risk as there is an increased chance of a blowout occurring. Handling and grip are also affected.
"The recent rises in petrol prices are hitting drivers hard, yet many are failing to make one very simple check and adjustment that could save them hundreds of pounds over the year," said Stuart Jackson, chairman of TyreSafe.
The results of the TyreSafe study support those published earlier this week by tyre maker Bridgestone, which found that 81 per cent of drivers in Europe are driving vehicles with tyres below the recommended pressure.