Check Your Tyres
With motorists looking for new ways to cut their fuel bills, Kwik-Fit’s annual nationwide tyre spot check concludes that 12 million motorists could cut costs at the pump by a combined £1.4 billion in the next 12 months - simply by keeping their tyres inflated to the correct pressure.
Indeed the company’s field study found that 46% of cars in the UK are driven with at least one under-inflated tyre, which according to official tests, wastes up to 8% more fuel.
Furthermore Kwik-Fit also calculates that an extra 2.2 million tonnes of carbon could enter the atmosphere this year, as a result of tyre under-inflation. That’s the equivalent to the annual CO2 emissions for Iceland.
Sadly, the figures are significantly worse than last year’s spot check when only 20% of cars were found to have an under-inflated tyre. The company blames this on a decline in fully functioning, publically available tyre gauges. Indeed a recent report from Auto Express found that over a third (39%) of service station tyre gauges are damaged, out of order, or giving incorrect readings.
Aside from increasing the amount of fuel used, under-inflated tyres can cause a blowout – where a tyre suddenly explodes without warning. This happened to me once years ago and it was an extremely horrible experience. Luckily it did not cause a serious accident. Since then I do check the tyres regularly and invested in a tyre pressure kit that stays in my boot.
Jackie Violet – Female First