Under Pressure
From November 2012, by law, all new cars sold in Europe must be fitted with Tyre Pressure Monitoring Systems (TPMS)
The logic behind this move makes for interesting reading. Under-inflation will, at the very least, worsen braking distances and handling. And according to the Department for Transport (DfT), defective or under-inflated tyres caused more than 1210 road casualties in the UK last year – and 164 deaths over the last five years. And then there’s the environmental impact to think about – driving with under-inflated tyres wastes fuel, and reduces tyre life.
But is this worth yet more legislation? Tyre-maker Michelin ran a Fill Up With Air road show recently to focus attention on this very problem. Their research showed that 39 per cent of UK motorists are driving on dangerously under-inflated tyres (that means at least 8psi under-inflated), and 5 per cent on punctured tyres – pretty shocking stuff. According to Michelin’s maths, quite apart from the safety considerations, this UK anti-inflation tendency is wasting 244 million litres of fuel every year. This is costing us £337 million, and costing the atmosphere 600,000 tonnes of CO2.
So it could be that compulsory TPMS will turn out to be a simple, cheap and effective way to reduce accidents, save money and protect the environment.
