Highways England is marking the end of Tyre Safety Month by
revealing a series of initiatives it is developing or already
delivering to help drive down the number of people killed and
injured on the country’s motorways and major A roads.
The government company is working to slash road casualties by 40
percent by 2020 and believes focusing on tyre safety will have an
important contribution over the next few years.
In 2016, tyre-related incidents along Britain’s roads led to 8
fatalities and 120 serious injuries. Working with partners as
diverse as the NHS and tyre manufacturers, Highways England is
exploring and experimenting with a series of innovative projects
to help family drivers, commuters and commercial drivers alike
keep tyres in tip-top condition and reduce the number of
breakdowns and blow-outs on the road network.
Stuart Lovatt, Highways England’s Road Safety Lead, said:
Tyre failure is often due to incorrect inflation or worn
treads. This can lead to everything from frustrating congestion
caused by breakdowns to catastrophic collisions and tragic loss
of life.
We are committed to dramatically reducing the number of people
killed and seriously injured on our motorways and major A
roads. A focus on tyre safety will be a key activity for us
over the next few years with an emphasis on reaching out to
particularly vulnerable road users.
Only this week, a video - showing how to make
simple 1 minute vehicle fitness checks before taking to the
roads- was launched as part of Highways England’s partnership
with Baby Box University which provides physical as well as
online resources for expectant and new mums and dads.
As part of the launch event in Rotherham, Highways England also
provided simple tyre tread checkers in baby boxes delivered to
young parents..
Other initiatives being refined or developed include:
- 2 pilot schemes in Lancashire and Yorkshire equipping fire
fighters with mobile 3D scanners to give drivers accurate tread
depth readings and safety advice at safety events
- equipping Highways England’s own Traffic Officer Service with
hundreds of manual tread gauges so they can help drivers make
judgements about tyre health at public events
- investigating ways of quickly scanning vehicles, especially
lorries, for other issues such as tyre tread depth, overheating
brakes or axles which can cause lorries to break down suddenly,
leading to congestion
- working with tyre firm Bridgestone to analyse the causes of
tyre-related incidents and tyre damage – including promoting
better tyre ‘husbandry’ among drivers and commercial fleet
operators, with a focus on everything from regular tyre checks to
debris-free depot maintenance
- developing a ground-breaking pilot initiative launched 2
years ago with tyre management technology company WheelRight Ltd,
where drivers stopping at Keele Motorway Service Area were able
to use a drive-through sensor station with an instant print-out
facility to check the health of their tyres before heading back
onto the motorway
John Walford, Highways England’s Commercial Vehicle Incident
Prevention Manager, said:
The primary cause of commercial vehicle tyre failure is under
inflation. Tyre-related problems are a major factor behind
routine breakdowns and other, more serious incidents on our
motorways and major A roads, leading to congestion, injuries
and in some cases fatalities.
The associated costs, particularly in terms of congestion, are
a brake on economic performance and the project at Keele MSA
tackled the issue head on by alerting drivers to issues and
allowing them to sort those out before leaving the services and
resuming motorway journeys.
Highways England deals with more than 3,500 wheel or tyre-related
incidents every month. Government figures suggest 1 in 12 HGV
tyres is dangerously underinflated with the figure 1 in 8 for
cars.
Many car drivers and commercial van and lorry drivers do not know
the correct PSI for their vehicles while commercial drivers often
leave tyre maintenance to their depots and do not check pressures
themselves - with hard to reach tyres, such on the inside of
axles – an issue.
Tyre-related incidents can be caused by under-inflation or
over-inflation, bulges, blisters and cracks and other signs of
weathering – often seen on towed vehicles which are often only
used seasonally.
Highways England is a key supporter of the charity TyreSafe which
works with a variety of partners such as police forces and
manufacturers to reduce tyre-related incidents. More information
on the work of TyreSafe is available on their website.
