Fifth Gear presenter Vicki Butler-Henderson backs Michelin tyre safety campaign - which is coming to Chester next week

Jul 23 2009 By James Shepherd

The UK and Ireland are Europe’s worst offenders when it comes to driving with dangerous tyres.

In its sixth year, Michelin’s European tyre safety campaign, Fill Up With Air, has shed light on alarming statistics based on checks of 50,000 cars across 27 countries.

Only Latvia, Greece, Lithuania and Estonia have a worse record with Austria and Germany being consistently the most safety conscious.

In the UK in 2007 just over 50 per cent of those who had their tyres checked were driving with at least one dangerously under-inflated tyre – not only putting their own lives at risk, but those of their family, passengers and other road users.

Out of 5,000 UK cars surveyed by Michelin in 2007/08, more than 65 per cent were found to be running with incorrect tyre pressures and more than 43 per cent were found to have dangerously under-inflated tyres, risking an accident.

Michelin’s head of communications, Peter Snelling, said: “On the Continent, drivers are far more aware of the importance of their tyres as they are sued to changing them seasonally. They have respect for their vehicles and are fully aware of the safety implications of using unsuitable or incorrectly maintained tyres, something we seem to happily ignore in this country, until it’s too late.

“Tyres are the only thing keeping a car on the road and it’s all too easy for drivers to take them for granted and not treat them with the utmost care and attention that they deserve. Our Fill Up With Air research has shown that even during the boom year’s people didn’t maintain their tyres and it is a concern that people will literally cut corners in order to cut costs during a recession, despite this being a false economy.”

For 2009 Michelin has collated the statistics gathered over the last six years to compile a true picture of tyre safety in the UK and across Europe.

Stand-out findings from the report include:

• 70 per cent of UK vehicles were found to be running with incorrect tyre pressures

• Over the last couple of years, 11 per cent of the vehicles inspected were damned as having very dangerously under-inflated tyres

• Almost 27 per cent of cars checked in Liverpool were found to be driving with punctures

• The most tyre conscious region is East Anglia – with 10 per cent of the population checking tyre pressure once a week

• Passenger car travel contributes to 16 per cent of the UK’s CO2 emissions

• Michelin has been a key player in lobbying the European Parliament for new tyre regulations to cut CO2 emissions. New regulations are being introduced starting from 2012.

Mr Snelling added: “The Michelin message to Fill Up With Air needs to get through. With petrol prices hurting everyone and the overall cost of motoring rising it makes so much sense to regularly attend to this simple maintenance job. Checking and correcting tyre pressures once a month and before long journeys can save lives as well as money.

Fill Up With Air will be in Chester on July 28 at Halfords on the Greyhound Park, Sealand Road.