Michelin saaid it has helped nearly 5,000 motorists save fuel this summer as part of its annual Fill Up With Air campaign. The event has been touring the U.K. since May and shows drivers the importance of keeping tires at the correct pressure. The tire giant believes the campaign has reduced the annual CO2 emissions of participating drivers by around 145 tons, assuming the 4,753 drive an average of 12,000 miles per annum at 35mpg. These figures suggest those motorists would save more than 12,700 gallons of fuel and around £70,000 on fuel bills, in addition to the increased wear and the added costs of replacing incorrectly inflated tires more frequently.
Based on these sample figures, if every car in the U.K. – there are about 30 million – was running on correctly inflated tires, the nation could save £440 million on fuel and reduce its CO2 emissions by more than 1,000,000 tons a year. Michelin points out that in addition to the ecological and economical reasons for ensuring correct tire pressures are maintained, a car’s handling and safety can also be affected. It also puts more stress on the vehicle’s steering and suspension components leading to possible wear and additional maintenance costs.
Michelin’s head of communications, Peter Snelling, said, “The Fill Up With Air campaign has been the biggest to date, reaching thousands of motorists. Not only does driving with the wrong pressures have an effect on the environment, it can seriously compromise safety. Tires that are underinflated can cause poor handling on the road and potentially lead to serious accidents and put lives at risk. There are lots of ways that people can help to cut their carbon footprint and keeping tires at the correct pressure is a simple and very cheap solution.”
The campaign found that more than 37% of drivers in the U.K. were running on dangerous or very dangerous tires (more than 8psi underinflated) and more than 5% of motorists were driving with at least one punctured tire. Michelin is urging drivers to check their tire pressures not only as part of Energy Saving Week, which is running from Oct. 25-31, but also monthly and before a long journey. (Tyres & Accessories)
