Making sure your tyres are inflated properly could save drivers from incidents caused by poor breaking.

Cooper Tyre Europe, which supplies care tyres across Europe, said new figures on the frequency with which drivers checked their tyres was very worrying – especially as to do so is very simple.

Managing director of Cooper Tyre Europe, Julian Baldwin, said uninflated tyres and balding treads on over-used rubber were glaring safety hazards. He said they were some of the worst ways of getting into an accident or gaining penalties, all of which would drive up insurance costs.

"Braking distances can be greatly affected by underinflated tyres and even more so when combined with a car full to capacity," he commented.



He said they were making sure all their customer were familiar with tyre checking procedures and knew the recommended tyre pressures in their car's handbook. He also said they were trying to get people into the habit of checking their tyres before starting on any moderately significant journey.

His advice follows the publication of a study by Kwik-Fit that found that four million drivers who are taking their car on holiday this year were not planning to perform basic checks of their vehicle before setting off.


The figures showed that one in five road users will not check the tyre pressure ahead of a journey. Almost half of the people surveyed said they would not check whether the tread met legal requirements or not.

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