Results from 15 European countries where Bridgestone’s "Think Before You Drive" campaign was conducted last year show 81% of motorists are driving on underinflated tires.
The tiremaker drew this conclusion after conducting tire safety checks on some 52,400 vehicles in the U.K. and on the Continent, and notes that this inattention to correct tire pressure wastes the annual equivalent of four billion litres of fuel and adds 9.3 million tons of unnecessary CO2 emissions to the air we breathe.
Furthermore, 26.5% of motorists were found to be driving on what Bridgestone considered to be “seriously underinflated tires” tires whose air content is at least 0.5 bar below the manufacturer’s recommended pressure and 7.5% are motoring with tires at least 0.75 bar below recommended pressure.
Tread depth was also found to be wanting; 16.6% of tires on checked vehicles were worn down below the EU legal minimum 1.6mm dread depth. Approximately 9% of inspected tires were both severely worn and severely underinflated, and Bridgestone comments that 3% of the checked tires would experience 50% reduced mileage due to under-inflation. (Tyres & Accessories)