The 2015 Tyre Safety Month campaign asks motorists the direct question, “When did you last do it?” and encourages them to “Practise safe checks”.
Organised by TyreSafe, Tyre Safety Month takes place annually each October. In 2014 more than 500,000 posters, leaflets and other campaign materials were distributed to the public during Tyre Safety Month.
Earlier this year TyreSafe conducted the UK’s largest survey of tyre tread depths at the point of replacement. The results showed that more than a quarter of motorists were replacing their tyres when they were already illegal, which TyreSafe says equates to “potentially nearly 10 million illegal and dangerous tyres on Britain’s roads in 2015”. A previous survey showed one in five motorists have never checked their tyres.
Stuart Jackson, chairman of TyreSafe, said: "TyreSafe’s research shows there is still a lot of work to be done in changing motorists’ attitudes to tyre safety.
“This year, our campaign will ask the question ‘How often do you do it?’ and encourage drivers to be able to honestly answer ‘at least once a month and before long journeys’.
"While TyreSafe is the driving force behind the campaign, a crucial part of Tyre Safety Month’s success is the support we receive from our members and supporters. The free resources we’re making available offer them a range of tools to help raise awareness of the basic checks which will reduce the number of tyre-related incidents on our roads."
The range of campaign materials available to supporters includes leaflets and posters, as well as digital assets such as an animation and video highlighting the results of TyreSafe’s tread depth survey. A quick guide to all the resources is available in the form of a ‘toolkit’.
The Tyre Safety Month microsite offers further resources including a series of case studies from previous campaigns, providing a library of ideas to inspire supporter activities and boost the campaign’s reach and effectiveness.
Quite agree David that what the driver does is more important than the brakes and tyres. I was, perhaps too subtly, suggesting that the publicity surrounding tyres and the regular campaigns would give the (wrong) impression to the uninitiated that provided your tyres are legal, everything will be hunky dory when in fact the condition of the tyres – tread and pressures – only becomes a factor in extreme conditions i.e hard braking in very wet weather and cornering and braking on the limit which in everyday driving, doesn’t happen that often and perhaps shouldn’t at all.
Hugh Jones, Cheshire
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Hugh, I do have my own ‘brake safety month’; it is the month my MOT is due. Yes, I do have a regular check on the condition of pads and discs, but I don’t really know how well the system will perform in extremis until someone sticks it on a set of rollers.
I would contest your view that brakes have more effect on stopping distances than tyre condition. The overwhelming factor in the way a vehicle stops is how good the driver is in noticing that things are about to go wrong. The best brakes in the world, coupled with fantastic tyres, will not stop a vehicle whose driver has his right foot still on the accelerator.
David, Suffolk
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Like many other motorcyclists, I try to keep a close eye on my bike tyres. We do because we know how critical they are to our safety. My potential vulnerability as a biker makes me more attentive to the small patch of rubber that keeps me from sliding down the road. I apply the same scrutiny to my car tyres out of a maintenance habit transferred over from the bike, so I wonder if bikers generally make safer car drivers in this regard?
Pat, Wales
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I would presume that most motorists only change tyres for two reasons. 1. a puncture and 2. a failed MOT or advice on an MOT. Otherwise they leave them alone.
I can understand that the industry would prefer that tyres be changed earlier rather than later. It would be in their financial interests to advocate that.
However I have read a recommendation that a motorcycle tyre should be replaced at 2mm. and not wait till it’s at its legal limit. That said a bike tyre can cost a lot more than a car tyre which generally has 9mm of tread and a motorcycle tyre front has only 4 mm of tread. The rear only 6mm of tread so changing it at 2mm means only getting about 2000 miles out of a set of very expensive tyres. Whilst it appears that tarmac is becoming more and more smoother and less aggressive to tyres motorcycle tyres are being made of softer compounds and therefore more prone to early wear.
Bob Craven Lancs….Space is Safe campaigner
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What about a brake safety month? How good a vehicle’s brakes are, is a more determining factor in stopping – dry roads as well, not just wet – than the tyre tread depth. Would the average driver think to regularly check for any unexplained brake fluid loss or bulging brake hoses, between services?
Hugh Jones, Cheshire
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What if tyres made a horrible noise and vibration when they reached the minimum tread depth? That would make people want to change their tyres and would be a much more effective strategy than some behaviour change initiative.
Duncan MacKillop. No surprise – No accident.
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