The UK’s leading tyre safety charity has launched a new awareness campaign aimed at those who drive with children on board.
Launched last week (16 Mar), TyreSafe’s ‘Home on Safe Tyres’ campaign highlights the importance of tyres in keeping drivers and their young passengers safe.
Using the message ‘Child care – Tyre care’, the campaign comprises posters, leaflets and an animation advising how drivers can carry out general tyre maintenance themselves. Alternatively, TyreSafe says drivers can ask a tyre professional to ensure air pressure, condition and tread depth are safe and legal.
A TyreSafe study of more than 340,000 tyres at the point of replacement, conducted in partnership with Highways England, suggests more than one in four vehicles may have ‘illegal or poorly maintained’ tyres.
TyreSafe also points to research which suggests that children spend three hours a week in the car with their parents, and around 96 hours per year with grandparents at the wheel.
Stuart Jackson, chairman of TyreSafe, said: “With child care responsibilities spread among different people, it’s important that everyone in that care network regularly makes sure their car’s tyres are safe.
“Car tyres are the only part of the car in contact with the road, which makes their maintenance essential for road safety. Whether you are a parent, grandparent or guardian, checking your tyres once a month is crucial for keeping yourself and your passengers safe.”
The campaign materials have been distributed across TyreSafe’s supporter network but further requests for the resources are welcome via email.
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17 August 2016
Bit of an odd message. If you never have children in your car, don’t the tyres still matter? Without children on board, if you were driving on your own in heavy rain with bald front tyres and a child ran in front of you, the bald tyres could prevent you stopping in time. (That’s if you were speeding of course).
Tyre condition campaigns often have the phrase “…car tyres are the only part of the car in contact with the road…” as this one does. It’s obviously a true statement but at the same time, stating the obvious. It’s gravity that keeps the car on the road, not the tyres i.e. the car will not become weightless and float away if the tyres are illegal or under-inflated.
Tyres are relatively important, but don’t assume – even with brand new, perfect tyres – that you can’t crash!
Hugh Jones, Cheshire
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