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Tyre safety shock

Tyre gauges ‘put lives at risk’

The shocking state of forecourt tyre pumps, exposed in an Auto Express investigation, has been slammed by safety campaigners.

TYRE GAUGE

Text: Julie Sinclair / Photos: Derek Goard

10th January 2008

Our spot check of more than 80 sites across the UK (see box) revealed 39 per cent of stations had gauges that were damaged, out of order or giving wrong readings.

With the help of Cheshire-based kit calibration firm Caltec ATC, we found a huge amount of sites had inflators which filled tyres to the incorrect pressure. This ranged from just one or two pounds per square inch (psi) out to a shocking 14psi at one forecourt.

Our survey found 19 per cent of pumps were not working at all, and only half of these carried signs warning motorists that the kit was broken. Manu­facturers recommend tyre gauges are calibrated every three months, according to Caltec, but there is no legal obligation for filling station owners to do it. Motorists’ tyre pressure and tread depth checks also revealed more than one in three drivers stopped had at least one tyre that was inaccurate by 50 per cent or more – in the worst it was out by 76 per cent!

Nearly a third of drivers also had at least one tyre that was bald or with just-legal tread depth. Many admitted they left their tyres unchecked for up to a year – and were blissfully unaware of dangerous faults which could prove fatal in a crash.

Chris Wakely of campaign group TyreSafe said the results were “very worrying”. He added: “Severely under-inflated tyres can compromise safety. Garage and petrol station managers have a crucial role to play in providing an accurate and reliable airline service to the motoring public. These faults are potentially putting their safety at risk.”

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Extra Info

FORECOURT ROUND-UP

Area / Tyre pumps with defects* (%)

Bedfordshire 33
Buckinghamshire 0
Cambridgeshire 0
Hertfordshirea 44
London 58
Midlands & Staffs 14
North East & Cumbria 20
North West 40
Oxfordshire 63
South Gloucestershire 66
South Wales 50
Southern Scotland 50
Surrey 29
West Sussex 50

*Defects include damage to equipment, incorrect readings or machinery that was out of order. Figures based on survey of 82 tyre pumps at forecourts across the UK.
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